Banana belt

A banana belt is any segment of a larger geographic region that enjoys warmer weather conditions than the region as a whole, especially in the wintertime. The term "banana belt" is broad enough that it can be used to describe everything from the entire Antarctic Peninsula, to the southern part of American midwest states,[1] to microclimate areas of mountain ranges.[2]

Banana belts of the latter type may form on the lee sides of mountain slopes caused by 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.

Examples of "banana belts"

Canada

• Whitehorse in the Yukon.
• Windsor and Essex County in Ontario[3]
• The Niagara Peninsula in Ontario.[4]
• Melita in Manitoba.[5]
• The southern Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia[6][7]
• Chatham-Kent municipality in Ontario.[8][9]
• Victoria, British Columbia along with Saanich, British Columbia and surrounding areas in the region which forms Greater Victoria is considered the warmest metropolitan area in Canada, especially during the winter season due to having "Fewest frozen days".[10][11][12]
• Medicine Hat and Lethbridge in Alberta due to the influence of Chinook winds.[13][14][15]
• The cities of Kelowna, Penticton, and Vernon in the Okanagan region.[16]
• Osoyoos in the region of British Columbia Southern Interior.[17]
• Creston in Central Kootenay of British Columbia.[18]

United States

• Prince of Wales Island, Alaska
• Southwestern North Dakota
• Rapid City, South Dakota, in the Black Hills
• Menominee, Escanaba, Manistique, and Iron Mountain Michigan are in the banana belt of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.[19]
• Sausalito, California has a small banana belt region located in the hillside that is said to escape the fog and rain of the San Francisco and southern Marin County areas.
• The Arkansas River Valley in Colorado, located in the Rocky Mountains, east of the Continental Divide and below the Sawatch Range of 14,000 foot peaks, is often referred to as a "banana belt". It includes the towns of Buena Vista, Salida, Parkdale, Cañon City to Pueblo, Colorado.[2]
• The portion of the Oregon Coast region south of Port Orford is known as "Oregon's Banana Belt" because of its mild climate in relation to the rest of the coast. The largest communities in this region are Brookings-Harbor and Gold Beach.[20]
• Lewiston, Idaho, the Treasure Valley area around Nampa is known as Idaho's Banana Belt. With Lewiston located at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers, it is known as the “Banana Belt of the Pacific Northwest.” Residents enjoy year-round golfing, while being only a short drive away from snow skiing.[21]
• Bitterroot Valley (and arguably extending into West Yellowstone) in southwestern Montana

Europe

• Western Europe, and Northern Europe, including the United Kingdom and Ireland have mild winters due to the warming effects of the North Atlantic Current.

See also

• Belt regions of the United States
• Chinook wind
• Foehn wind
• Hardiness zone

References

1. "Cross Country Skiing in Illinois". A1 Trails. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
2. "Colorado Fishing Network: Banana Belt Trout - Arkansas River". Coloradofishing.net. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
3. "Parks Canada - Point Pelee National Park - Weather". Pc.gc.ca. 2009-08-24. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
4. Gayler, Hugh J. (1994). Niagara's Changing Landscapes. ISBN 9780886292355.
5. "Big banana ups Manitoba town's 'a-peel' - Manitoba - CBC News". Cbc.ca. 2010-08-03. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
6. "Salt Spring Island, Canada's Banana Belt". Saltspringmarket.com. 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
7. "Bananas and olives now thriving in the Banana Belt of Canada | the Province". 2016-09-06.
8. "International Plowing Match, Day 4: 70 crops 'in the raw state' on display | the London Free Press". 2018-09-21.
9. "Almost 70 crops shown in 'raw state' at IPM". 2018-09-21.
10. https://books.google.com/books?id=cUUMEazAfxoC&pg=PA74&dq=banana+belt+canada&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjU7bLT1_3dAhVLPY8KHa6KCesQ6AEIKTAB#v=onepage&q=banana%20belt%20canada&f=false. Missing or empty |title= (help)
11. https://books.google.com/books?id=8SNH9AQuhfAC&pg=PA32&dq=banana+belt+victoria+bc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwisx9vG3v3dAhXCq48KHXohAH8Q6AEILjAC#v=onepage&q=banana%20belt%20victoria%20bc&f=false. Missing or empty |title= (help)
12. https://books.google.com/books?id=KG6ixOAQ4UMC&pg=PA268&dq=banana+belt+victoria+bc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwisx9vG3v3dAhXCq48KHXohAH8Q6AEIKDAB#v=onepage&q=banana%20belt%20victoria%20bc&f=false. Missing or empty |title= (help)
13. "lethbridge"+banana+belt&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjdyeb0lf7dAhVMpo8KHVL8ACIQ6AEIJDAA#v=onepage&q="lethbridge"%20banana%20belt&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=-BkfAbhThBkC&pg=PA337&dq="lethbridge"+banana+belt&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjdyeb0lf7dAhVMpo8KHVL8ACIQ6AEIJDAA#v=onepage&q="lethbridge"%20banana%20belt&f=false. Missing or empty |title= (help)
14. "lethbridge"+banana+belt&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjdyeb0lf7dAhVMpo8KHVL8ACIQ6AEIMjAD#v=onepage&q="lethbridge"%20banana%20belt&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=NbzWpHBAaHYC&pg=PA27&dq="lethbridge"+banana+belt&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjdyeb0lf7dAhVMpo8KHVL8ACIQ6AEIMjAD#v=onepage&q="lethbridge"%20banana%20belt&f=false. Missing or empty |title= (help)
15. "lethbridge"+banana+belt&dq="lethbridge"+banana+belt&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjdyeb0lf7dAhVMpo8KHVL8ACIQ6AEIODAE https://books.google.com/books?id=qfhn67MOIu0C&q="lethbridge"+banana+belt&dq="lethbridge"+banana+belt&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjdyeb0lf7dAhVMpo8KHVL8ACIQ6AEIODAE. Missing or empty |title= (help)
16. Roberge, Earl (1985). Columbia: Great River of the West. Chronicle Books. ISBN 9780877013365. Banana belt.
17. "Observatório da Emigração".
18. https://www.kootenaivalleytimes.com/boundary/weather-outlook-creston-best-in-the-metro-for-sun-bathing/article_34830faa-35e0-11ea-9143-6b0c38b9d68d.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
19. "Hunt's Guide to Michigan's Upper Peninsula". Hunts-upguide.com. 1997-02-26. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
20. Wechter, Eric B. (2008). Fodor's Pacific Northwest, 17th Edition - Fodor's - Google Books. ISBN 9781400007332. Retrieved 2012-10-13 – via Google Books.
21. https://magicvalley.com/news/local/curious-mind-southern-idaho-s-banana-belt/article_02c81afe-b6b8-11e2-9057-001a4bcf887a.html