CAA Flagship wrote:Grizalltheway wrote:
To the south of Spokane is the Palouse, not mountains.
I see mountains as far south as Boise.
And that map you provided makes it look like they are ginormouser.
Moisture comes in off the Pacific. Much of it is captured by the Cascades and BC Coastal Ranges to the north and the Sierras to the south. Behind those ranges sit the Great Basin and Columbia Plateau Deserts which are lowlands.
Northern Washington, including the Okanogan Highlands in the middle of the state is fairly mountainous straight across hence the higher cloud cover versus the lowland desert and rain shadow areas to the south.
South of Spokane is a mixture of mountains (Blues, Wallowas, and Eagle Cap Wilderness of WA, OR, and ID) and desert lowlands. Boise is semi-arid and sits in a large basin between the Snake River and the mountains.
As Pacific moisture begins to rise back once it hits the Rockies, you see more clouds and precipitation. However Utah and Colorado are further south with higher temperatures and less humidity. They are also further away from the Pacific and have the massive Sierras and interior ranges of Nevada between them and the ocean sapping more moisture. But there too, you see an increase in precipitation over the lower deserts and along with that, more trees.
It's just not as much as the more temperate climate and closer proximity to the Pacific of North Central and Northeast Washington State.
Hope this helps.
