Is Sacramento considered High Desert or Desert in general? (Los Angeles: airport, move)

[Ludachris]

Originally Posted by KC6ZLV

Well, the San Joaquin Valley portions of Kern County are desert.

Agricultural production is dependent upon the right climate, good soil and the availability of water. Thanks to projects like the Friant-Kern Canal, water is available in the areas of Kern County which receive less than 6 inches of rain a year.

The agriculture along the Nile River is another example of farming in a desert.

Oh I don't doubt there are areas in the central valley that are "desert-like". But to characterize the Sacramento region as a desert in general would be pretty inaccurate. Granted, with the increase in drought conditions in CA, that may change at some point. But it certainly hasn't been the case in recent decades. Is it hot in the summer? Yes. Is it dry much of the year? Sure. Is it a desert? No.

[Ludachris]

Originally Posted by KC6ZLV

Btw, San Jose has the same climate type as Sacramento (Csb). San Jose is a little cooler in the summer, a little warmer in the winter, and receives about 14-15 inches of rain a year. Sacramento receives 18+ inches a year, depending where you are. Nobody ever questions if San Jose is a desert.

You're right, I've never heard San Jose referred to as a desert. Not sure why Sacramento would be thought to be desert either.

[CAVA1990]

It's part of the Central Valley, the area between the coastal range and the sierras which runs up and down the middle of the state. It's desert on the other side of the Sierras to the East in Nevada.

[Ludachris]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

It's part of the Central Valley, the area between the coastal range and the sierras which runs up and down the middle of the state. It's desert on the other side of the Sierras to the East in Nevada.

I'm very familiar with the area, as I grew up in the Bay Area. That's what has me confused as to why anyone would consider it a desert.

[mr bolo]

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[misc916]

I have had a couple friends in the past from the east coast visit here and refer to Sacramento as 'desert'...I think this is because from about May until October it IS very 'desert like' - Hot, sunny, and dry. In the summer everything is brown plus we have some 'desert type' plants like palm trees and even some cactus in home landscapes here and there...So to the outsider from a completely different region/climate this might seem to them like a desert...As others have posted, technically Sacramento is 'semi-arid grassland' with a Mediterranean climate (hot dry summer, cool wet winter).

[wburg]

The Nile River delta is pretty much the textbook definition of a "Mediterranean climate," considering how the Nile empties into the Mediterranean Sea. It is desert only because 6000 years of intensive agriculture tends to have long-term negative consequences to the soil. We're hot, yes, but the Sacramento Valley is not a desert. Yes, there are deserts several hundred miles to the south--but there are near-rainforests an equivalent distance to the north.

And yes, we have cactus and palms here, but they aren't native to our area. People planted them because it seemed Californian, and it was fashionable to do so. For those used to humid East Coast or Midwestern summers, it must seem kind of desert-like--but we have a distinct shortage of sand!

[KC6ZLV]

The Nile delta is classified as hot dessert (BWh). I looked up the climate data for Alexandria, which is on the delta. It is classified as BWh also, but with 7-8 inches of precipitation, it is probably BSh (hot steppe), which is a transitional climate between warmer Mediterranean (Csa) and hot desert (BWh).

Cairo isn't too far inland. The climate data suggests it is very similar to the lower elevations of eastern San Bernardino County, with a less precipitation. That isn't enough to support agriculture.

For a similar comparison, San Diego is just shy of having a Mediterranean climate. It has a cool steppe (BSk) climate, but is close enough to Mediterranean that the average person isn't going to notice the difference.

True Mediterranean climates are named after the Mediterranean coast of Europe. Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece. It is also found along the immediate coast in Morocco, Israel, and is a micro-climate in some areas around the Black Sea where it transitions to Cfb.

[daves357]

Sacramento is certainly not a desert, but neither is Seattle the city of incredible rainfall that it has the reputation of being. Seattle gets about 30 inches of rain a year. Would you believe that Los Angeles got more than that this year? It's true. The jet stream has ridden about 1,000 miles south of it's usual latitude this year, funneling in storms that would typically strike Oregon.

Seattle is a rainy place, but it rarely rains hard. Similar to Sacramento in winter, it stays cool and damp, rarely drying out completely. Sacramento has never been considered a desert, but prairie would be an applicable term for some surrounding areas. The regional flora may have more to do with soil quality than rainfall. Local bottomlands have produced some of the healthiest riparian and oak forests in California.

Since the Mojave Desert was mentioned, some might find it interesting that while places like Victorville (80 miles N.E. of Los Angeles) get about 5 inches of rain per year, Mount Baldy summit, which is only 20 miles away, averages about 50 inches. Snow is usually visible on the north side of the peak (10,500') until July, Though this year it may last until August. Snow fell as low as 3,000' just this week.

One of the things that qualifies a place as desert is low humidity. Sacramento only marginally qualifies in that regard, then only from July through October. When you see temperatures that regularly vary over 30 degrees between the daytime high and overnight low, humidity is low. This rarely happens in Sacramento, in fact, winter temperatures can sometimes vary less than 10 degrees for an entire week.

Deserts exist for several reasons, the most important being latitude and rain show effect. Sacramento is north of the contributing latitude and the modicum of rain shadow produced by the coastal range is fairly insignificant. Reno is slightly farther north, but is in a deep rain shadow, created by the Sierra Nevada. The Mojave Desert is both within the dry latitudes and in a deep rain shadow. On top of that, most of the desert has extremely poor soil.

A note of interest. Redding, CA has the has more days with temperatures exceeding 90 degrees than any place in the world with a latitude as far or further north. Redding also averages about 40% more rain than Sacramento, but has lower humidity and is generally more desert-like. --Defining a desert can be a fickle thing.

[daves357]

Originally Posted by Ludachris

You're right, I've never heard San Jose referred to as a desert. Not sure why Sacramento would be thought to be desert either.

San Jose doesn't get quite as hot as Sacramento.