Question #a47b4
1 Answer
The Atmosphere on Leeward side has little moisture left because most of the moisture has been lost on the windward side of the mountain.
Explanation:
An example is the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Death Valley in California. These mountains rise to 14.000 feet in places. The wind from the Ocean blows against these mountains. As the air is forced upwards, the colder air at the high elevations can hold much less water, than the wet warmer air from the ocean. The water then comes out of solution and falls on the windward side of the mountains as snow and rain.
The air that passes over the mountains to the Leeward side has little or no moisture left. The air then drops down to the desert side floor of Death Valley on the Leeward side of the mountain where the warm air can hold much more moisture than remains. As the air has very low relative humidity there is little likelihood that any perception like rain or snow will occur. Without rain the land on the Leeward side becomes a desert.
The term for this type of precipitation is orographic precipitation, as it is formed due to orographic lift. The term orographic means relating to mountains or mountain position.
