Book 7, Question 16
Why Do Mountains Make Their Own Clouds?
Mountains can build clouds all on their own. When wind meets a mountain, the air has nowhere to go but up. As it rises, it cools, and that makes a cloud.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 7
More fun facts
- When air is pushed up a mountain and forms clouds, scientists call it orographic lift.
- The side of a mountain where the wind blows in is called the windward side.
- Mountains often make stratus clouds and smooth, lens-shaped lenticular clouds.
- To form a cloud, air has to cool, and the most common way to cool air is to lift it.
- On Hainan Island in China, mountains more than 5,900 feet tall push air up and build clouds over the island's center.
- Some mountain ranges in New Zealand are taller than the tops of the clouds around them.
Sources: UCAR Center for Science Education, NASA Science, NASA Science
Questions kids ask
What is orographic lift?
When wind pushes air up a mountain, the air cools and can form clouds.
What are lenticular clouds?
Smooth, lens-shaped clouds that often form over mountains.