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For North America which coast is the windward and which is the leeward?

User Tanghao
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Final answer:

In North America, the windward coast is the West Coast, where moist westerly winds from the Pacific bring higher rainfall, and the leeward coast is the East Coast, which has a relatively drier climate due to the rain shadow effect.

Step-by-step explanation:

For North America, the windward coast refers to the side of the continent where winds blow from the ocean onto the land, which typically sees more precipitation because of orographic lift. In North America, this is the West Coast, where the prevailing westerly winds from the Pacific Ocean bring moisture that hits the coastal mountains, leading to higher rainfall, especially in regions like British Columbia down to Northern California.

The area from the West Coast towards the interior features mountain ranges such as the Rockies, and as we move further eastward, the land flattens into vast plains before rising again into the Appalachian Mountains near the East Coast. As a general trend, the climate becomes more arid moving from the lush, rain-heavy West to the drier East.

User Max Mazur
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