A rain shadow is a dry area on the lee back side of a mountainous area. The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems casting a "shadow" of dryness behind them.
As shown by the diagram to the right, the incoming warm and moist air is "pulled" by the prevailing winds towards the top of the mountains where it condenses and precipitates before it crosses the top. The air, without much moisture left, advances behind the mountains creating a dryer side called "rain shadow."
Read more about Rain Shadow: Description, Regions of Notable Rain Shadow
Famous quotes containing the words rain and/or shadow:
“What should we speak of
When we are old as you? When we shall hear
The rain and wind beat dark December, how,
In this our pinching cave, shall we discourse
The freezing hours away?”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“The torrent of the reaching shade
Broke shadow into all its parts,
What then had been of shadow made
Found exigence in fits and starts....”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)