Banana belt

"Banana belt" is an informal geographic term used to describe a segment of a larger geographic region which enjoys warmer weather conditions than the region as a whole, especially in the wintertime. The term is broad enough that it can be used to describe everything from the entire Antarctic Peninsula, to the southern part of American midwest states, to microclimate areas of mountain ranges.

Banana belts of the latter type may form on the lee side of mountain slopes due to orographic lift. When air rises over the top of a mountain range, it cools and releases moisture on the windward slope. As the air is pulled down the other side, it is compressed and heated via adiabatic heating, and it warms and dries territory in the mountain's rain shadow.

North American examples of "banana belts" include:

• Rapid City, South Dakota, is located in the "banana belt" of the Black Hills.
• Whitehorse is located in the "banana belt" of Yukon Territory.
• Menominee, Escanaba, and Manistique are said to be in the banana belt of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
• Sausalito, California has a small banana belt region located in the hillside which is said to escape the fog and rain of the San Francisco and southern Marin County areas.
• A loosely defined area of Colorado located in the southern......
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