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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 the American Midwest, to microclimate areas of mountain ranges.

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
• The Niagara Peninsula in Ontario
• Brant County in southern Ontario
• Melita in Manitoba
• The southern Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia
• Chatham-Kent municipality in Ontario
• Victoria, British Columbia, along with Saanich, British Columbia, and surrounding areas in the region that forms Greater Victoria. It is considered the warmest metropolitan area in Canada, especially during the winter, with the fewest "frozen days".
• Annapolis Royal in the western part of Nova Scotia
• The stretch from Shelburne to Yarmouth in southwestern Nova Scotia
• Medicine Hat, Warner and Lethbridge in Alberta due to the influence of Chinook winds
• The cities of Kelowna, Penticton, and Vernon in the Okanagan region
• Osoyoos in the region of British Columbia Southern Interior
• Creston in Central Kootenay of British Columbia

United States

• Menominee, Escanaba, Manistique, and Iron Mountain, Michigan are in the banana belt of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
• 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.
• 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.
• The Lewis-Clark Valley straddling the Washington/Idaho state line is known as the "Banana Belt of the Inland Pacific Northwest". The area includes Lewiston, Idaho and Clarkston, Washington, both located at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers.
• The Treasure Valley area of Southwest Idaho that includes the capital of Boise, Idaho and surrounding communities is known as Idaho's Banana Belt. Residents enjoy year-round golfing, while being only a short drive away from skiing.

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.

Australia

• In the cool season, due to the southeast Australian foehn, the southeastern coast of New South Wales, which includes cities such as Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong, Batemans Bay, Merimbula, and Narooma, is relatively warmer than the inland regions of the state (i.e. Central Tablelands, South Western Slopes and the Central West).

See also

• Chinook wind
• Foehn wind
• Hardiness zone
• List of belt regions of the United States

References

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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. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. ISBN 9780886292355.
5. "Why the Grand River Watershed Needs Greenbelt Protection in Brant County". 21 August 2019.
6. "Big banana ups Manitoba town's 'a-peel' - Manitoba - CBC News". Cbc.ca. 2010-08-03. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
7. "Salt Spring Island, Canada's Banana Belt". Saltspringmarket.com. 2012-09-13. Archived from the original on 2012-12-14. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
8. "Bananas and olives now thriving in the Banana Belt of Canada | the Province". 2016-09-06.
9. "International Plowing Match, Day 4: 70 crops 'in the raw state' on display | the London Free Press". 2018-09-21.
10. "Almost 70 crops shown in 'raw state' at IPM". 2018-09-21.
11. Canfield, Jack; Hansen, Mark Victor; Newmark, Amy (5 November 2013). Chicken Soup for the Soul: O Canada the Wonders of Winter: 101 Stories about Bad Weather, Good Times, and Great Sports. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781611592313.
12. MotorBoating. March 2002.
13. Murphy, Peter (4 November 2009). The Business of Resort Management. Routledge. ISBN 9781136359361.
14. "Rare and unusual plant sale's a draw for Nova Scotia town". 20 June 2017.
15. Feliciter. 1974.
16. Ontario Library Review. 1974.
17. https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6768559. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
18. Wall, Karen L. (19 October 2012). Game Plan: A Social History of Sport in Alberta. University of Alberta. ISBN 9780888645944.
19. Jones, David C. (2002). Empire of Dust: Settling and Abandoning the Prairie Dry Belt. University of Calgary Press. ISBN 9781552380857.
20. Hardy, William George (1967). "lethbridge"+banana+belt Alberta: A Natural History.
21. Roberge, Earl (1985). Columbia: Great River of the West. Chronicle Books. ISBN 9780877013365. Banana belt.
22. "Observatório da Emigração".
23. "Weather outlook; Creston best in the metro for sun bathing". Archived from the original on 2020-01-25. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
24. Wechter, Eric B. (2008). Fodor's Pacific Northwest, 17th Edition - Fodor's - Google Books. Fodor's Travel Publications. ISBN 9781400007332. Retrieved 2012-10-13 – via Google Books.
25. "Wine, Water and History: Exploring Idaho's Lewis-Clark Valley". 19 November 2021.
26. "Treasure Valley: Boise and Beyond".
27. Don White (June 2023). "Rain Shadows". Willy Weather. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
28. Joel Pippard (16 April 2020). "Rain one side, heat the other in NSW". Weatherzone. Retrieved 25 May 2024.

• Belt regions