CALIFORNIA

• California‘s climate and relief varies across the whole state
• Prevailing moist air from the Pacific is forced up by mountains to create relief rainfall
• South and East California (Death Valley and Mojave Desert) receive under 100mm rainfall due to the rain shadow of the mountains
• How much of Californias freshwater comes from groundwater sources - aquifers?

  almost 1/3
• The Sacramento River joins the San Joaquin River in San Francisco Bay, proving large volumes of water for urban and agricultural use
• Far South in California, river flow is extremely variable and can even dry up
• El Niño events bring flooding to the south west and La Niña events bring drought