The Leo on Wheels: Treasure Mountain International School
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Blog entry by Ian McClintick, from The Leo on Wheels staff
The Leo on Wheels recently visited Treasure Mountain International School in Park City, Utah. Park City is a small town in the mountains east of Salt Lake City, and it's home to world-famous ski resorts Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort and The Canyons. People from all over the world visit Utah's ski resorts for the beautiful scenery and the greatest snow in the world.
So what's so great about Utah's snow? The answer begins in the north Pacific Ocean where storms are created when cold Arctic winds collide with warmer Pacific water. The storms then travel to the Wasatch Mountain Range where they hit higher elevations and lower temperatures, which lead to an increase in condensation and precipitation. This process is called orographic precipitation, and it occurs at all major mountain ranges -- so what makes Utah's snow different from other regions?
A common stellar plate snowflake
Utah is the second driest state in the country. The dry climate helps to create a light crystalline snowflake called a dendrite, masses of which are affectionately known to skiers as powder, after the light texture that lets you "float" through a fresh fall.
A fern dendrite — light, airy and perfect for ripping down a mountainside
According to the Utah Center for Climate and Weather, Utah's ski resorts receive around 300 inches of snow a year, providing plenty of dendrites for people from all over the world to enjoy!
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Labels: locals, science, The Leo on Wheels
1 Comments:
Interesting. Hard to believe Utah is so arid given the snow cover in the mountains most of the year.Love the snowflake photos.
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