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Lab Final
Lab Final
Lab Final
Geography of Missouri
Connecting Climate, Ecoregion, Soil, and Evapotranspiration Data
Lexie Cannon
04.27.2017
a mean temperature of 24 degrees Celsius and winters are cold with a mean temperature
of -3 degrees Celsius. Due to the chain of mountains running through the mid to south
region of the boundaries, precipitation changes. The northern regions get more rain than
natural phenomenon throughout the years. Droughts that naturally occur in the south
may become more lethal than before. That, in turn, will affect the entire state and may
cause agriculture to halt. Summers will be immensely warmer and winters will be mild.
Alongside droughts, this state also experiences severe thunderstorms and tornados
during the long summer months. With the globally changing temperatures, the fronts
that hit against each other to cause tornadoes may become more intense; lasting longer
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Figure 1: Located in the North West corner of the state, this location is the furthest away from the mountain chain. (Lat:
38.2612, Long: -94.405)
Figure 3: This location obtains the highest latitude of the five locations. Using this data will allow us to see the major
differences between the northern and southern parts of the region. ( Lat: 39.7425, Long: -94.0347)
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Figure 4: Galena is located in the bottom South West corner, giving us a different perspective on how climate is different
from West to East. (Lat: 36.8061, Long: -93.4677)
Figure 5: Vichy Rolla is located on the chain of mountains that run through Missouri. This location receives a different type
of weather pattern being located on the northern side of the mountain. (Lat: 38.13111, Long: -91.76833)
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Ecoregion 1 Description
● Temperate/Humid climate
● Dense and diverse forest cover
Eastern Temperate Forest ● High content of Deciduous trees (changes
with the seasonal patterns)
● Perennial streams, lakes, wetlands
● Grassland biome
● Farming lands
Great Plains ● Flat prairie like areas
● Predominantly short -medium length
grass and shrubs
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Ecoregion 2 Description
● Very Biodiverse
Ozark/Ouachita Appalachian Forest ● Woodlands
● Heavy cropland
Southeastern USA Plains ● Hilly Topography
Climate heavily affects the different ecoregions that are present. Hamilton and
Butler are both within the Great Plains/Temperate Prairies ecoregions. This part of the
state is influenced by the annual precipitation level. During most of the year these areas
experience an average of 5-7 cm of rain. This allows all vegetation to maintain their
height and grow in the rainy months of May and June. Vichy Rolla, Galena, and West
Plains all fall into the Eastern Temperate/Appalachian Forests. All of which have mild
winters and an even amount of rainfall all throughout the year. The warmer
temperatures and even precipitation allow the forests to thrive. The trees are able to
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Soil Orders
predominantly ruled by grasslands
Plains/Temperate Prairie
amount of Eastern Temperate/Appalachian Forests, alfisols rule the North Eastern to
Central regions of the state. Other soils, Entisols, Inceptisols, Histosols, and Ultisols, can
all be found near wetland areas. Where the soils are well drained, large amount of
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Evapotranspiration VS Streamflow
Evapotranspiration(ET) is the amount of water that is put into the air from soils,
vegetation, and bodies of water. The amount of evapotranspiration that takes place in
year. At this time of year, precipitation decreases to an average of 7 cm of rain and
streamflow seems to plummet, allowing the soils and vegetation to release any existing
water and leaving the soils dry. These months are crucial for crops and wildlife
well-being, and this time of year, with this extreme lack of water, is when the state
the relationship was the same. Depending on the amount of precipitation the area got,
affected the amount of streamflow. ET reacts the opposite way. The less streamflow
fact that water has such a high heating capacity, it takes more heat to evaporate larger
amounts of water. So when streamflow is low, the sun is able to warm the area easier,
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