Rain shadow

An area of diminished precipitation on the lee side of mountains. There are marked rain shadows, for example, east of the coastal ranges of Washington, Oregon and California and over a larger region, much of it arid, east of the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevadas. Precipitation on the northern Oregon...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: J. R. Fulks
Format: Reference Entry
Language:English
Online Access:Request full text
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Summary:An area of diminished precipitation on the lee side of mountains. There are marked rain shadows, for example, east of the coastal ranges of Washington, Oregon and California and over a larger region, much of it arid, east of the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevadas. Precipitation on the northern Oregon coast is around 100 in. (2.5 m) per year; east of the coastal ranges in the Willamette Valley it is about 40 in. (1.0 m); and east of the Cascades it drops to around 10 in. (0.25 m). All mountains decrease precipitation on their lee; but rain shadows, as is shown by annual totals, are sometimes not marked if moist air often comes from different directions, as in the Appalachian region.
DOI:10.1036/1097-8542.572100