Lab 12: earth: biome hunt

Biomes are a way of describing an environment based on rainfall, temperature and altitude, along with proximity to the ocean in our island case. In the diagram below, temperature is on the X axis, while rainfall is on the Y axis in mm of rain per year:

Part I Challenge: Island of Hawai'i

• Your challenge is to pick 8 random places on your island map, label them 1-8 and challenge your classmates to determine the biome in each location using only google earth and google street view. 
  

Part II Challenge: Island chain-Hawai'i to Kauai

• Repeat your hunt for the entire island chain, from Kauai to our island with at least two different biomes for each island where possible (one island has only one biome)
• Your classmates will then identify the biome at each location

Questions: email before next class

1. what sort of biome tends to be on the southwest side of each island?
2. what sort of biome tends to be on the northeast side of each island?
3. which direction does the wind and rain come from most of the time?
   
4. which island has only one biome and why?
5. why does our island have so many more biomes than the others?
6. where is the wettest place on earth?
7. why?
8. why is Waipio Valley so wet while Kawaihae is so dry?
9. what seems to determine the biome on an island?
10. what seems to determine the biome anywhere else?

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