A geographic region has the following distinct characteristics: 1. Warm and dry climate 2. Mild and wet winter 3. Evergreen oak trees. The above features are the distinct characteristics of which one of the following regions?

Answer: (a) Mediterranean

Summer high pressure brings drought; winter westerlies bring rain. Cork and holm oak, olive and vines are adapted to it.

The idea

The Mediterranean climate is the only one with dry summers and wet winters. The cause is the seasonal shift of the wind belts. In summer the dry high-pressure belt moves over the region. In winter it moves away and the rain-bearing westerlies come in.

Summer: dry high-pressure belt overhead → hot and dry → Winter: westerlies arrive from the sea → mild and wet

Why the others are wrong

(b) Eastern China gets its rain mostly in summer.

(c) Central Asia is dry and extreme, not mild and wet in winter.

(d) The Atlantic coast of North America has rain all year and cold winters.

The trap

The dry summer / wet winter pair belongs to the Mediterranean alone.

Also know

Plants survive the dry summer with small, thick, leathery leaves and deep roots: olive, cork oak, laurel. Found on west coasts at 30°–45° latitude: around the Mediterranean Sea, California, central Chile, the Cape of South Africa, and south and south-west Australia. The region is known for citrus fruits, grapes and wine.