User talk:Nguyenvi252

PHYSICAL COASTAL CALIFORNIA GEOGRAPHY
When in the clear day, we see the sky is blue. That is caused by scattering in the atmosphere. Blue and violet lights are is the shortest wavelength of visible light and more energetic to reach more molecules so they are more scattered. Therefore, people can see a much blue light when wavelengths touch the ground. However, when in the sunrise or the sunset, we see the red sky. At this time, the sun is very close to the Earth, the light has passed through so much atmosphere at nearly all of the blue wavelengths have been scattered away, leaving only the longest wavelengths of visible light, orange and red (Mc Knight, p.452). The Orange County west boundary is along the Pacific Ocean; accordingly, it is the great place to view beautiful sunsets on the ocean like this picture.

Sea and land Breezes is a common local wind system that occurs along the Pacific coast, including the Orange County Coastline. During the day, the surface of landform is hotter than the ocean because the land absorbs the heat better than the water. The heating on land causes the air to expand and rise, creating a low-pressure area (Mc Knight, p.115) while the ocean is breezed cooler, highly pressure. The wind tend blow from high-pressure areas to low-pressure areas so in the daytime wind flow onshore. In this picture, although it was a foggy day, the temperature reached about 70 F. Therefore, the surface of a land is warmer than the ocean, so the flat fly inland as the wind direction. Clouds are massed of condensation, which produces all precipitation, but not all precipitate. Clouds are not only important because they are the source of precipitation but also because of their influence on radiant energy (Mc. Knight, p.). They receive both isolations from above and terrestrial radiation from below, and then they may observe, reflect, scatter, or reradiate this energy (Mc. Knight, p.). Clouds are classified from their altitude and shape form. In the picture above these clouds were formed after a rainstorm. Due to its low altitude and tall, narrow, puffy appearance, they would be classified as a cumuliform cloud. In an addition, these clouds were formed after the rainstorm, they are probably cumulus. If they were cumulonimbus, the clouds would be at much lower altitude and stretch higher up. Fog is an inferior form of condensation at the ground level. The long coastline of the Orange County is a propitious position for the advection fog develops. Regarding this fog in Laguna Beach, in the afternoon, the warm mass air passed the cold ocean horizontally, drifted inland and the temperature of the land dropped by radiation cooling; as a result, the fog are formed when air at Earth’s surface cools to below its dew point temperature (Mc. Knight, p.142). The fog helps cooling down the atmosphere in the Orange County hot summers. Unfortunately, according to researchers at UC Berkeley, the amount of fog along the California Coast, including Orange County, has been decreasing and the change could affect Orange County by generating longer warmer summer. The drop of the fog duration is a one of part of global climate change; however, particular cause that has is still unknown. The Orange County is an ideal location for Mediterranean climate because it lies on the Western side of continent centered at about latitude 35 N. The Mediterranean climate areas usually consist of warm/hot summer, mild winter, and year-round mildness in coastal areas. However, the Orange County is coastal Mediterranean areas (Csb), its summer is milder than inland Mediterranean’s and has little rain that influenced by sea breezes and coastal advection fog. Clear skies and abundant sunshine are typical especially in summer (Mc. Knight, p.205).The average annual temperature is about 68 °F (20 °C). Almost all precipitation comes from these cyclonic storms, except for occasional tropical influences in California (Mc. Knight, p.205). The presence of a cold ocean current along the western coast of the United States helps to stabilize the air, further reducing the chances for rain. The cloudless skies during summer, however, increase the absorption of insolation by the polluted atmosphere of many large urban centers in places like southern California causing problems of photochemical smog. The liquidity of the ocean permits it to be in continuous motion (Mc Knight, p.240). The most obvious motion on the sea surface is waves. The origins of waves in the Orange County are usually winds or storms. There are slight waves on normal day so the waves are usually generated by the wind. The wind blows on the ocean surface to transmit the energy to the water, actually the wind drag the water. When the water rises up and pull back down that bring more and more water, eventually they becomes waves. Waves in the open ocean are mostly just shapes, and the movement of a wave across the sea surface is the movement of form rather than substance, or, to say the same thing another way, of energy rather than matter (Mc Knight, p.240). As The Orange County average annual precipitation is modest (about 15 inches), this kind of Xerophytes plant that adapted to withstand protracted dry condition. For the survival, the cactus has spines instead of leaf to inhibit water loss through transpiration. As a result, they can survive for a long time without water. Also, roots are modified to myriad small roots and rootlets that seek any moisture available near the surface over a broad area (Mc. Knight, p.288) and absorb water rapidly during periods of light rainfall. The Orange County, California is known as the typical Mediterranean climate (Cs) which is dry summer –wet winter. So, the Orange County is covered by the most of medium-sized tree and shrubs. As we see in this representative region picture, these shrubs are evergreen and their leaves are mostly small and have a leathery texture or waxy coating, which inhibits water loss during the long dry season (Mc. Knight, p.308). Most natural scrublands can occur most easily in areas where aspects of the natural environment are less than optimal for trees. Therefore, although in physical history of the Orange County’s forests, the fire has been commonly happened due to hot and rainless summer, these woody shrubs regenerate rapidly after the fire. The Orange County’s coastal bluffs are composed mainly of sedimentary rocks such as sandstones and shales. The sedimentary rock is formed by the deposition of the sediment. After the rock is disintegrated to fragmented mineral materials by external processes, wind and water and gravity move those materials. Because of the coastal mountain range in the Orange County, the deposition was faster and stronger. So, these mineral materials have traveled downslope from the mountain ranges and settle at the bottom of sea. For thousands of years, layer by layer of erosive productions deposit on top of each which built a thickness. In addition, once the combination of chemical cementation and pressure take place, which transforms the sedimentary to sedimentary rock. As an ecological preservation, these ancient sediments in the Orange County commonly contain, or sometimes even consist almost entirely of, the fossil remains of marine plants and animals. Therefore, by analyzing the structure of sedimentary rock, the scientists are able to discover the ocean or depositional environments in the past. A fall is where regolith cascades put down a slope, including rock fall; however, it is not about adequate volume or viscosity to perform as a flow. Falls, which are characterized by the presence of vertical cracks, are promoted in rocks. In addition, falls are a result of undercutting of water as well as undercutting of waves. They often occur at very steep slopes such as a cliff face. The rock material may be come loose by earthquakes, rain, plant-root wedging, expanding ice, among other things. The gathering of rock material that has fallen resides at the base of the structure and is known as talus. A rock fragment may simply be dislodged and fall, roll, or bounce down to the bottom of that’s lope when loosened by weathering on a very steep slope (page 427 Mc Knight). Regarding to weathering processes, plants, are known as an agent of biological weathering, involve in both physical and chemical weathering. Roots from plants are able to break the rocks apart with their growing roots as this picture. In chemical weathering, mosses and lichens have been found to grow on rocks and release chemicals that dissolve minerals from rocks. They draw minerals from the rock by ion exchange, and this leaching can weaken the rock. Moreover, expansion and contraction of lichens as they get alternatively wet and dry flake off tiny particle of rock (Mc. Knight, p.425). In an addition, some of trees and other plants those release acidic chemicals which can cause weathering of the rocks. Plants also can have an effect on the way water weathers rocks and soils, they can change water directions that cause greater weathering and can lessen the impact of rain falling on the ground. They also affect wind speed and direction near the surface of the ground having an effect on weathering. The moving water has a tremendous force so the greater part of erosion is accomplished by water. As the stream flow carry rock particles or sediment along with it, the rock is undermined. For a long erosive period, these rocks eventually break off and more fragments from the bottom and side of valley. The power of stream flow depends on its speed and agitation and its effectiveness is varied. The valley in the picture is kind of small because it is eroded much. The main origin of this valley destruction is rain. We have little much rain in the Orange County so the erosive process is slowly and less effective than others. The presence of rocks and cliffs along the coastline is easily noticeable in the Orange County. Toward the coastline, the wave actions play an importance role to shape the landscape. The wave erosions are shown significantly the Newport Beach as well as others the county’s Beach. In the process, the big waves overtop the headland and wash movable materials out such as plant, sand and soil. In other words, they can cut the face of the headland and leave most of rock. The presence of this notch undermines the higher portion of the headland, which may subsequently collapse, producing a steep cliff (Mc. Knight, p.357) and rock underneath. We can see slope cliffs and rock falls in this picture that is caused by the continuing wave erosion for a long time. A lake is a body of water surrounded by land. The picture above is of Lake Barbra, the only natural occurring lake in the Orange County. Like most of the world’s lake, it contains freshwater. Two conditions are necessary for the formation and continued an existence of a lake: 1) some sort of natural basin at least filled (Mc. Knight, p.). Like most lakes, Lake Barbra has a stream that serves as a drainage outlet and that is the Aliso creek. As for the flow of water, the lake usually keeps its basin filled from rain. The lake is unevenly distributed, and thanks to alteration they are disappearing.

Nguyenvi252 (talk) 04:21, 10 August 2022 (UTC)