exercise 16.1 western u.s. mountain geographycamp.cos.gmu.edu/eos-310/hw9.pdf · exercise 16.2...

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Name: _____________________________________________ Class: ____________ Date: ____________

Exercise 16.1 Western U.S. Mountain Geography

Draw a line on the map to indicate the location of each of the mountain ranges listed. Label each range. In thespace provided list the states in which the mountain ranges are found.

Mountain Range States in U.S.

Cascades ________________________________________________________________________

Sierra Nevada ________________________________________________________________________

Coast Range ________________________________________________________________________

Wasatch Range ________________________________________________________________________

Bitterroot Mountains ________________________________________________________________________

Rocky Mountains ________________________________________________________________________

Rauber et al_Severe Weather03E_PAK01_89183_EX16.pdf 4/29/08 1:49 PM 21

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Rauber et al_Severe Weather03E_PAK01_89183_EX16.pdf 4/29/08 1:49 PM Page 122


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Name: _____________________________________________ Class: ____________ Date: ____________

Exercise 16.2 Pressure Patterns, Wind Flow, and Mountain Snows

The four surface maps below each show the sea level pressure distribution across the western United States on dif-ferent days in January.

1. Draw arrows around the pressure systems to indicate wind direction. (The first one is done for you.)

2. Shade in the regions on each map where the wind direction is favorable for the development of snow in themountains of the western United States.

3. If the snow would fall on the east slope of the Rockies, label it “upslope snow.”



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Name: _____________________________________________ Class: ____________ Date: ____________

Exercise 16.3 Impacts of Mountain Snowstorms

Determine if each statement is “True” or “False.”

1. T F The water from mountain snowstorms provides about a third of the electricity throughout the west-ern United States and over 80 percent in Oregon and Washington.

2. T F The fatalities associated with avalanches in the United States have been decreasing in recent yearsbecause of better warning systems.

3. T F The strategy used by cloud seeding operations is to convert supercooled water in the clouds to icecrystals. They do this because ice crystals grow at the expense of liquid drops.

4. T F The primary reason that mountains experience so many snowstorms in a winter season is that deepcumulonimbus clouds develop over the mountains nearly every day due to heating of the slopesduring daytime.

5. T F Many locations along the Sierra Nevada and Cascades receive 20 to 30 feet (240 to 360 inches) ofsnow during a year with average snowfall.

6. T F The Chain Law refers to the chains that are used to block roads during potential avalanches. Driversare not permitted to take their cars across the chains.

7. T F The water-equivalent of snow in the mountains can range from 4 inches of snow to one inch ofwater, to 30 inches of snow per inch of water.

8. T F Upslope storms on the east slope of the Colorado Rockies are important because they affect a popu-lation corridor that includes the cities of Omaha, Nebraska, and Kansas City, Kansas.

9. T F The weather pattern most conducive to an upslope storm along the east slope of the ColoradoRockies is one in which there is a low pressure system to the north of Colorado and a high pressuresystem to the south of Colorado.

10. T F The city of Denver has the best chance of a heavy snowstorm when the surface winds in winter areblowing from the northeast.



exercise 16.1 western u.s. mountain geographycamp.cos.gmu.edu/eos-310/hw9.pdf · exercise 16.2...

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