Earth Science 7 - St. Louis, Missouri

Earth Science 7- Cities

Climate

Longitude

90.197W

Elevation

142 meters

Major Bodies of Water

St. Louis is on the west bank of the Mississippi river and the Missouri river run through it.

Average Temperatures an Precipitation

Average Monthly Temperatures

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Avg. Temperature 29.3, 33.9, 45.1, 56.7, 66.1, 75.4 , 79.8, 77.6, 70.2, 58.4, 46.2, 33.9,

Avg. Max Temperature 37.7, 42.6, 54.6, 66.9, 76.1, 85.2, 89.3, 87.3, 79.9, 68.5, 54.7, 41.7,

Avg. Min Temperature 20.8, 25.1, 35.5, 46.4 , 56.0, 65.7, 70.4, 67.9, 60.5, 48.3, 37.7, 26.0 ,

St. Louis Precipitation Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual

Precipitation (inches) 1.8 2.1 3.6 3.5 4.0 3.7 3.9 2.9 3.1 2.7 3.3 3.0 37.5

Monthly Snowfall (inches) 5.4 4.4 4.0 0.5 0.0 < 0.05< 0.05 0.0 0.0 < 0.05 1.4 3.8 19.5

Climate Zone

Dfa- humid continental; Humid with severe winter, no dry season, hot summer

As you go higher up a mountain, the air pressure decreases and the gas molecules spread farther and farther apart. Less dense air holds less heat than dense air, so the farther above sea level you are, the lower the temperature will be so St. Louis has a fairly cold climate.

Latitude determines the amount of solar energy received by that region. Regions close to the equator receive direct rays of the sun and therefore receive more radiant energy and are warmer. At the areas closer to the poles, the suns rays are at an angle so these areas receive less radiant energy and are cooler.

The Mississippi River also helps make St. Louis have a mild temperature. Water cools and heats up slower so it will warm or cool areas surrounding it.

Geology

St. Louis is on the North American plate and it is not near any plate boundaries. It is about 2300 miles from the San Andreas Fault, which is the boundary for the North American and Pacific Plates. This is the closest plate boundary. St. Louis is an earthquakes zone even though it is not on a mojor fault. Intra-plate earthquakes occur in the area of the city. Rocks under St. Louis are limestone and dolomite which are sedimentary rocks. They may have formed from the nearby rivers or underground caves. There is no volcanic activity near St. Louis.