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Geography

Why Rain Shadows Create Arid Zones on Mountain Leeward Sides

Quick fact

The rain shadow effect is so powerful that it creates entire deserts—like the Mojave Desert in the United States, which lies just east of the Sierra Nevada, and the Atacama Desert in Chile, which is one of the driest places on Earth and sits on the leeward side of the Andes.

Why this is interesting

You know how the west side of a mountain range can be lush and green while the east side is a desert? What causes such a dramatic difference in just a few dozen miles?