The numbers used in the climate zone map don't have a title or legend. The California climate zones shown in this map are not the same as what we commonly call climate areas such as "desert" or "alpine" climates. The climate zones are based on energy use, temperature, weather and other factors.This is explained in the Title 24 energy efficiency standards glossary section:"The Energy Commission established 16 climate zones that represent a geographic area for which an energy budget is established. These energy budgets are the basis for the standards...." "(An) energy budget is the maximum amount of energy that a building, or portion of a building...can be designed to consume per year.""The Energy Commission originally developed weather data for each climate zone by using unmodified (but error-screened) data for a representative city and weather year (representative months from various years). The Energy Commission analyzed weather data from weather stations selected for (1) reliability of data, (2) currency of data, (3) proximity to population centers, and (4) non-duplication of stations within a climate zone."Using this information, they created representative temperature data for each zone. The remainder of the weather data for each zone is still that of the representative city." The representative city for each climate zone (CZ) is:CZ 1: ArcataCZ 2: Santa RosaCZ 3: OaklandCZ 4: San Jose-ReidCZ 5: Santa MariaCZ 6: TorranceCZ 7: San Diego-LindberghCZ 8: FullertonCZ 9: Burbank-GlendaleCZ10: RiversideCZ11: Red BluffCZ12: SacramentoCZ13: FresnoCZ14: PalmdaleCZ15: Palm Spring-IntlCZ16: Blue CanyonFor more information regarding the climate zone map, please contact the Title 24 Energy Efficiency Standards Hotline at:E-mail: title24@energy.ca.gov916-654-5106 800-772-3300 (toll free in California)

Building Climates Zones of California Climate Zone Descriptions for New Buildings - California is divided into 16 climatic boundaries or climate zones, which is incorporated into the Energy Efficiency Standards (Energy Code). Each Climate zone has a unique climatic condition that dictates which minimum efficiency requirements are needed for that specific climate zone. The numbers used in the climate zone map don't have a title or legend. The California climate zones shown in this map are not the same as what we commonly call climate areas such as "desert" or "alpine" climates. The climate zones are based on energy use, temperature, weather and other factors.This is explained in the Title 24 energy efficiency standards glossary section:"The Energy Commission established 16 climate zones that represent a geographic area for which an energy budget is established. These energy budgets are the basis for the standards...." "(An) energy budget is the maximum amount of energy that a building, or portion of a building...can be designed to consume per year.""The Energy Commission originally developed weather data for each climate zone by using unmodified (but error-screened) data for a representative city and weather year (representative months from various years). The Energy Commission analyzed weather data from weather stations selected for (1) reliability of data, (2) currency of data, (3) proximity to population centers, and (4) non-duplication of stations within a climate zone.

Building Climates Zones of California Climate Zone Descriptions for New Buildings - California is divided into 16 climatic boundaries or climate zones, which is incorporated into the Energy Efficiency Standards (Energy Code). Each Climate zone has a unique climatic condition that dictates which minimum efficiency requirements are needed for that specific climate zone. The numbers used in the climate zone map don't have a title or legend. The California climate zones shown in this map are not the same as what we commonly call climate areas such as "desert" or "alpine" climates. The climate zones are based on energy use, temperature, weather and other factors.This is explained in the Title 24 energy efficiency standards glossary section:"The Energy Commission established 16 climate zones that represent a geographic area for which an energy budget is established. These energy budgets are the basis for the standards...." "(An) energy budget is the maximum amount of energy that a building, or portion of a building...can be designed to consume per year.""The Energy Commission originally developed weather data for each climate zone by using unmodified (but error-screened) data for a representative city and weather year (representative months from various years). The Energy Commission analyzed weather data from weather stations selected for (1) reliability of data, (2) currency of data, (3) proximity to population centers, and (4) non-duplication of stations within a climate zone."Using this information, they created representative temperature data for each zone. The remainder of the weather data for each zone is still that of the representative city." The representative city for each climate zone (CZ) is:CZ 1: ArcataCZ 2: Santa RosaCZ 3: OaklandCZ 4: San Jose-ReidCZ 5: Santa MariaCZ 6: TorranceCZ 7: San Diego-LindberghCZ 8: FullertonCZ 9: Burbank-GlendaleCZ10: RiversideCZ11: Red BluffCZ12: SacramentoCZ13: FresnoCZ14: PalmdaleCZ15: Palm Spring-IntlCZ16: Blue Canyon

The Energy Commission has developed this app to quickly and accurately show addresses and locations to determine California’s climate regions. We invite builders and building officials to use this app to determine the climate zones applicable to building projects.Please note:Building Climates Zones of California Climate Zone Descriptions for New Buildings - California is divided into 16 climatic boundaries or climate zones, which is incorporated into the Energy Efficiency Standards (Energy Code). Each Climate zone has a unique climatic condition that dictates which minimum efficiency requirements are needed for that specific climate zone. The California climate zones shown in this map are not the same as what we commonly call climate areas such as "desert" or "alpine" climates. The climate zones are based on energy use, temperature, weather and other factors.This is explained in the Title 24 energy efficiency standards glossary section:"The Energy Commission established 16 climate zones that represent a geographic area for which an energy budget is established. These energy budgets are the basis for the standards...." "(An) energy budget is the maximum amount of energy that a building, or portion of a building...can be designed to consume per year.""The Energy Commission originally developed weather data for each climate zone by using unmodified (but error-screened) data for a representative city and weather year (representative months from various years). The Energy Commission analyzed weather data from weather stations selected for (1) reliability of data, (2) currency of data, (3) proximity to population centers, and (4) non-duplication of stations within a climate zone."Using this information, they created representative temperature data for each zone. The remainder of the weather data for each zone is still that of the representative city." The representative city for each climate zone (CZ) is:CZ 1: ArcataCZ 2: Santa RosaCZ 3: OaklandCZ 4: San Jose-ReidCZ 5: Santa MariaCZ 6: TorranceCZ 7: San Diego-LindberghCZ 8: FullertonCZ 9: Burbank-GlendaleCZ10: RiversideCZ11: Red BluffCZ12: SacramentoCZ13: FresnoCZ14: PalmdaleCZ15: Palm Spring-IntlCZ16: Blue CanyonThe original detailed survey definitions of the 16 Climate Zones are found in the 1995 publication, "California Climate Zone Descriptions for New Buildings."

Analysis of ‘California Building Climate Zones’ provided by Analyst-2 (analyst-2.ai), based on source dataset retrieved from https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/4c0d938e-1d8f-432c-b84d-334c796aa6bb on 27 January 2022.

--- Dataset description provided by original source is as follows ---

Building Climates Zones of California Climate Zone Descriptions for New Buildings - California is divided into 16 climatic boundaries or climate zones, which is incorporated into the Energy Efficiency Standards (Energy Code). Each Climate zone has a unique climatic condition that dictates which minimum efficiency requirements are needed for that specific climate zone.

The numbers used in the climate zone map don't have a title or legend. The California climate zones shown in this map are not the same as what we commonly call climate areas such as "desert" or "alpine" climates. The climate zones are based on energy use, temperature, weather and other factors.

This is explained in the Title 24 energy efficiency standards glossary section:

"The Energy Commission established 16 climate zones that represent a geographic area for which an energy budget is established. These energy budgets are the basis for the standards...." "(An) energy budget is the maximum amount of energy that a building, or portion of a building...can be designed to consume per year."

"The Energy Commission originally developed weather data for each climate zone by using unmodified (but error-screened) data for a representative city and weather year (representative months from various years). The Energy Commission analyzed weather data from weather stations selected for (1) reliability of data, (2) currency of data, (3) proximity to population centers, and (4) non-duplication of stations within a climate zone.

"Using this information, they created representative temperature data for each zone. The remainder of the weather data for each zone is still that of the representative city." The representative city for each climate zone (CZ) is:

• CZ 1: Arcata
• CZ 2: Santa Rosa
• CZ 3: Oakland
• CZ 4: San Jose-Reid
• CZ 5: Santa Maria
• CZ 6: Torrance
• CZ 7: San Diego-Lindbergh
• CZ 8: Fullerton
• CZ 9: Burbank-Glendale
• CZ10: Riverside
• CZ11: Red Bluff
• CZ12: Sacramento
• CZ13: Fresno
• CZ14: Palmdale
• CZ15: Palm Spring-Intl
• CZ16: Blue Canyon

The original detailed survey definitions of the 16 Climate Zones are found in the 1995 publication, "California Climate Zone Descriptions for New Buildings."

--- Original source retains full ownership of the source dataset ---

Please note:Building Climates Zones of California Climate Zone Descriptions for New Buildings - California is divided into 16 climatic boundaries or climate zones, which is incorporated into the Energy Efficiency Standards (Energy Code). Each Climate zone has a unique climatic condition that dictates which minimum efficiency requirements are needed for that specific climate zone. The California climate zones shown in this map are not the same as what we commonly call climate areas such as "desert" or "alpine" climates. The climate zones are based on energy use, temperature, weather and other factors.

Building Climates Zones of California Climate Zone Descriptions for New Buildings - California is divided into 16 climatic boundaries or climate zones, which is incorporated into the Energy Efficiency Standards (Energy Code). Each Climate zone has a unique climatic condition that dictates which minimum efficiency requirements are needed for that specific climate zone.

The numbers used in the climate zone map don't have a title or legend. The California climate zones shown in this map are not the same as what we commonly call climate areas such as "desert" or "alpine" climates. The climate zones are based on energy use, temperature, weather and other factors.

Regional boundaries for use by CA Nature to support activities related to Executive Order N-82-20. These include California's 30x30 effort, Climate Smart Land Strategies, and equitable access to open space. This layer is derived from the 4th California Climate Assessment regions, and enhanced using the California County Boundaries dataset (version 19.1) maintained by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's Fire Resource Assessment Program, and the 3 Nautical Mile marine boundary for California sourced from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

A plant's performance is governed by the total climate: length of growing season, timing and amount of rainfall, winter lows, summer highs, wind, and humidity.Sunset's climate zone maps take all these factors into account, unlike the familiar hardiness zone maps devised by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which divides most of North America into zones based strictly on winter lows.ZONE 2A: Cold mountain and intermountain areasAnother snowy winter climate, Zone 2A covers several regions that are considered mild compared with surrounding climates. You’ll find this zone stretched over Colorado’s northeastern plains, a bit of it along the Western Slope and Front Range of the Rockies, as well as mild parts of river drainages like those of the Snake, Okanogan, and the Columbia. It also shows up in western Montana and Nevada and in mountain areas of the Southwest. This is the coldest zone in which sweet cherries and many apples grow. Winter temperatures here usually hover between 10 and 20°F (–12 to –7°C) at night, with drops between –20 and –30°F (–29 and –34°C) every few years. When temperatures drop below that, orchardists can lose even their trees. The growing season is 100 to 150 days.ZONE 3A: Mild areas of mountain and intermountain climatesEast of the Sierra and Cascade ranges, you can hardly find a better gardening climate than Zone 3a.Winter minimum temperatures average from 15 to 25°F (–9 to –4°C), with extremes between –8 and –18°F (–22 and –28°C). Its frost-free growing season runs from 150 to 186 days. The zone tends to occur at lower elevations in the northern states (eastern Oregon and Washington as well as Idaho), but at higher elevations as you move south crossing Utah’s Great Salt Lake and into northern New Mexico and Arizona. Fruits and vegetables that thrive in long, warm summers, such as melons, gourds, and corn, tend to do well here. This is another great zone for all kinds of deciduous fruit trees and ornamental trees and shrubs. Just keep them well watered.ZONE 18: Above and below the thermal belts in Southern CaliforniaZones 18 and 19 are classified as interior climates. This means that the major influence on climate is the continental air mass; the ocean determines the climate no more than 15 percent of the time. Many of the valley floors of Zone 18 were once regions where apricot, peach, apple, and walnut orchards flourished, but the orchards have now given way to homes. Although the climate supplies enough winter chill for some plants that need it, it is not too cold (with a little protection) for many of the hardier sub-tropicals like amaryllis. It is too hot, too cold, and too dry for fuchsias but cold enough for tree peonies and many apple varieties, and mild enough for a number of avocado varieties. Zone 18 never supplied much commercial citrus, but home gardeners who can tolerate occasional minor fruit loss can grow citrus here. Over a 20-year period, winter lows averaged from 22 to 17°F (–6 to –8°F).The all-time lows recorded by different weather stations in Zone 18 ranged from 22 to 7°F (–6 to –14°C).ZONE 19: Thermal belts around Southern California's interior valleysLike that of neighboring Zone 18, the climate in Zone 19 is little influenced by the ocean. Both zones, then, have very poor climates for such plants as fuchsias, rhododendrons, and tuberous begonias. Many sections of Zone 19 have always been prime citrus-growing country—especially for those kinds that need extra summer heat in order to grow sweet fruit. Likewise, macadamia nuts and most avocados can be grown here. The Western Plant Encyclopedia cites many ornamental plants that do well in Zone 19 but are not recommended for its neighbor because of the milder winters in Zone 19. Plants that grow well here, but not in much colder zones, include bougainvillea, bouvardia, calocephalus, Cape chestnut (Calodendrum), flame pea (Chorizema), several kinds of coral tree (Erythrina), livistona palms, Mexican blue and San Jose hesper palms (Brahea armata, B. brandegeei), giant Burmese honeysuckle (Lonicera hildebrandiana), myoporum, several of the more tender pittosporums, and lady palm (Rhapis excelsa). Extreme winter lows over a 20-year period ranged from 28 to 22°F (–2 to –6°C) and the all-time lows at different weather stations range from 23 to 17°F (–5 to –8°C). These are considerably higher than the temperatures in neighboring Zone 18.ZONE 20: Cool winters in Southern CaliforniaIn Zones 20 and 21, the same relative pattern prevails as in Zones 18 and 19. The even-numbered zone is the climate made up of cold-air basins and hilltops, and the odd-numbered one comprises thermal belts. The difference is that Zones 20 and 21 get weather influenced by both maritime air and interior air. In these transitional areas, climate boundaries often move 20 miles in 24 hours with the movements of these air masses. Because of the greater ocean influence, this climate supports a wide variety of plants. You can see the range of them at the Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia. Typical winter lows are 37° to 43°F (3 to 6°C); extreme 20-year lows average from 25 to 22°F (–4 to –6°C).All-time record lows range from 21 to 14°F (–6 to –10°C).ZONE 21: Thermal belts in Southern CaliforniaThe combination of weather influences described for Zone 20 applies to Zone 21 as well. Your garden can be in ocean air or a high fog one day and in a mass of interior air (perhaps a drying Santa Ana wind from the desert) the next day. Because temperatures rarely drop very far below 30°F (–1°C), this is fine citrus growing country. At the same time, Zone 21 is also the mildest zone that gets sufficient winter chilling for most forms of lilacs and certain other chill-loving plants. Extreme lows—the kind you see once every 10 or 20 years—in Zone 21 average 28 to 25°F (–2 to –4°C).All-time record lows in the zone were 27 to 17°F (–3 to –8°C).ZONE 22: Cold-winter portions of Southern CaliforniaAreas falling in Zone 22 have a coastal climate (they are influenced by the ocean approximately 85 percent of the time).When temperatures drop in winter, these cold-air basins or hilltops above the air-drained slopes have lower winter temperatures than those in neighboring Zone 23. Actually, the winters are so mild here that lows seldom fall below freezing. Extreme winter lows (the coldest temperature you can expect in 20 years) average 28 to 25°F (–2 to –4°C). Gardeners who plant under overhangs or tree canopies can grow subtropical plants that would otherwise be burned by a rare frost. Such plants include bananas, tree ferns, and the like. The lack of a pronounced chilling period during the winter limits the use of such deciduous woody plants as flowering cherry and lilac. Many herbaceous perennials from colder regions fail here because the winters are too warm for them to go dormant.ZONE 23: Thermal belts of Southern CaliforniaOne of the most favored areas in North America for growing subtropical plants, Zone 23 has always been Southern California’s best zone for avocados. Frosts don’t amount to much here, because 85 percent of the time, Pacific Ocean weather dominates; interior air rules only 15 percent of the time. A notorious portion of this 15 percent consists of those days when hot, dry Santa Ana winds blow. Zone 23 lacks either the summer heat or the winter cold necessary to grow pears, most apples, and most peaches. But it enjoys considerably more heat than Zone 24—enough to put the sweetness in ‘Valencia’ oranges, for example—but not enough for ‘Washington’ naval oranges, which are grown farther inland. Temperatures are mild here, but severe winters descend at times. Average lows range from 43 to 48°F (6 to 9°C), while extreme lows average from 34 to 27°F (1 to –3°C).ZONE 24: Marine influence along the Southern California coastStretched along Southern California’s beaches, this climate zone is almost completely dominated by the ocean. Where the beach runs along high cliffs or palisades, Zone 24 extends only to that barrier. But where hills are low or nonexistent, it runs inland several miles.This zone has a mild marine climate (milder than Northern California’s maritime Zone 17) because south of Point Conception, the Pacific is comparatively warm. The winters are mild, the summers cool, and the air seldom really dry. On many days in spring and early summer, the sun doesn’t break through the high overcast until afternoon. Tender perennials like geraniums and impatiens rarely go out of bloom here; spathiphyllums and pothos become outdoor plants; and tender palms are safe from killing frosts. In this climate, gardens that include such plants as ornamental figs, rubber trees, and scheffleras can become jungles.Zone 24 is coldest at the mouths of canyons that channel cold air down from the mountains on clear winter nights. Several such canyons between Laguna Beach and San Clemente are visible on the map. Numerous others touch the coast between San Clemente and the Mexican border. Partly because of the unusually low temperatures created by this canyon action, there is a broad range of winter lows in Zone 24. Winter lows average from 42°F (5°C) in Santa Barbara to 48°F (9°C) in San Diego. Extreme cold averages from 35° to 28°F (2 to –2°C), with all-time lows in the coldest stations at about 20°F (–6°C).The all-time high temperatures aren’t greatly significant in terms of plant growth. The average all-time high of weather stations in Zone 24 is 105°F (41°C). Record heat usually comes in early October, carried to the coast by Santa Ana winds. The wind’s power and dryness usually causes more problems than the heat itself—but you can ameliorate scorching with frequent sprinkling.

Local climate zones have been developed in the climatology field to characterize the landscape surrounding climate monitoring stations, toward adjusting for local landscape influences on measured temperature trends. For example, a station surrounded by tall buildings may be influenced by the urban heat island effect compared to a station in an agricultural area. The local climate zone classification system was developed by Iain Stewart and Tim Oke at the University of British Columbia. The classification scheme has been adopted by the World Urban Database Access and Tools Portal (WUDAPT) project, which aims to produce local climate zone maps for the entire world at a scale of ~ 100m. Local climate zones take building and vegetation type and height into account, and therefore serve as indicators of urban form, from dense urban (high building with little vegetation) to industrial/commercial (large lowrise buildings with paved areas) and natural (dense trees, low plants, water). How local climate zones are related to human health is a new area of research.CANUE staff and students worked in collaboratation with WUDAPT researchers to map local climate zones for Canada, using scripts developed in Google Earth Engine and applied to LandSat imagery for key time periods. Each postal code has been assigned to one of 14 local climate zone classes. In adition, seven groups have been created by aggregating similar local climate zones, and the percentage of group in the neighbourhood (1km2) around each postal code has been calculated.

The HOT2000 software contains monthly and annual climate data for 403 locations in Canada. Boundary lines for HOT2000 climate zones were defined through spatial interpolation of the annual Celsius heating degree-days for each weather station. In a number of instances, the positions of boundary lines may not be representative of the local climate conditions due to lack of appropriate climate data. Each HOT2000 climate zone contains one weather station to be used for all locations within the zone. Climate data represent 20-year averaged data from 1998 to 2017 for locations south of 58° latitude and 13-year averaged data from 2005 to 2017 for locations north of 58° latitude. Note that Whistler, BC uses 13 years of data. The following information is available in the climate map:

The North American Climate Zones map shows the distribution of climate types across Canada, Mexico, and the United States based on the Köppen-Geiger climate classification.This map is derived from the global climate zones presented by Beck et al. (2018), “Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution,” and represents the spatial distribution in vector format of 29 climate zones (out of 30 global climate zones) present in North America.This map was produced by resampling the original input data spatial resolution of 0.0083 degrees to 0.016 degrees and cropping the global data to the North American region. The map was used to meet the needs of the CEC project “Improving the effectiveness of early warning systems for drought” in assessing the effectiveness of available drought indicators and indices in climate zones of North America.Reference:Beck, H., Zimmermann, N., McVicar, T. et al. Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution. Sci Data 5, 180214 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2018.214Files Download

Local climate zones have been developed in the climatology field to characterize the landscape surrounding climate monitoring stations, toward adjusting for local landscape influences on measured temperature trends. For example, a station surrounded by tall buildings may be influenced by the urban heat island effect compared to a station in an agricultural area. The local climate zone classification system was developed by Iain Stewart and Tim Oke at the University of British Columbia. The classification scheme has been adopted by the World Urban Database Access and Tools Portal (WUDAPT) project, which aims to produce local climate zone maps for the entire world at a scale of ~ 100m. Local climate zones take building and vegetation type and height into account, and therefore serve as indicators of urban form, from dense urban (high building with little vegetation) to industrial/commercial (large lowrise buildings with paved areas) and natural (dense trees, low plants, water). How local climate zones are related to human health is a new area of research.CANUE staff and students worked in collaboratation with WUDAPT researchers to map local climate zones for Canada, using scripts developed in Google Earth Engine and applied to LandSat imagery for key time periods. Each postal code has been assigned to one of 14 local climate zone classes. In adition, seven groups have been created by aggregating similar local climate zones, and the percentage of group in the neighbourhood (1km2) around each postal code has been calculated.

The California State Energy Commission established climate zones that represent an area for which an energy budget is established. An energy budget is the maximum amount of energy that a building, or portion of a building can be designed to consume per year.

Contained within 3rd Edition (1957) of the Atlas of Canada is a map that shows the division of Canada into climatic regions according to the classification of the climates of the world developed by W. Koppen. Koppen first divided the world into five major divisions to which he assigned the letters A, B, C, D, and E. The letters represent the range of divisions from tropical climate (A) to polar climate (E). There are no A climates in Canada. The descriptions of the four remaining major divisions are given in the map legend. Koppen then divided the large divisions into a number of climatic types in accordance with temperature differences and variations in the amounts and distribution of precipitation, on the basis of which he added certain letters to the initial letter denoting the major division. The definitions of the additional letters which apply in Canada are also given when they first appear in the map legend. Thus b is defined under Csb and the definition is, therefore, not repeated under Cfb, Dfb or Dsb. For this map, the temperature and precipitation criteria established by Koppen have been applied to Canadian data for a standard thirty year period (1921 to 1950 inclusive).

"Vegetation Zones of Canada: a Biogeoclimatic Perspective" maps Canadian geography in relation to gradients of regional climate, as expressed by potential vegetation on zonal sites. Compared to previous similar national-scale products, "Vegetation Zones of Canada" benefits from the work of provincial and territorial ecological classification programs over the last 30+ years, incorporating this regional knowledge of ecologically significant climatic gradients into a harmonized national map. This new map, reflecting vegetation and soils adapted to climates prior to approximately 1960, can serve as a broad-scale (approximately 1:5 M to 1:10 M) geospatial reference for monitoring and modeling effects of climate changes on Canadian ecosystems. "Vegetation Zones of Canada: a Biogeoclimatic Perspective" employs a two-level hierarchical legend. Level 1 vegetation zones reflect the global-scale latitudinal gradient of annual net radiation, as well as the effects of high elevation and west to east climatic and biogeographic variation across Canada. Within the level 1 vegetation zones, level 2 zones distinguish finer scale variation in zonal vegetation, especially in response to elevational and arctic climatic gradients, climate-related floristics and physiognomic diversity in the Great Plains, and maritime climatic influences on the east and west coasts. Thirty-three level 2 vegetation zones are recognized: High Arctic Sparse Tundra Mid-Arctic Dwarf Shrub Tundra Low Arctic Shrub Tundra Subarctic Alpine Tundra Western Boreal Alpine Tundra Cordilleran Alpine Tundra Pacific Alpine Tundra Eastern Alpine Tundra Subarctic Woodland-Tundra Northern Boreal Woodland Northwestern Boreal Forest West-Central Boreal Forest Eastern Boreal Forest Atlantic Maritime Heathland Pacific Maritime Rainforest Pacific Dry Forest Pacific Montane Forest Cordilleran Subboreal Forest Cordilleran Montane Forest Cordilleran Rainforest Cordilleran Dry Forest Eastern Temperate Mixed Forest Eastern Temperate Deciduous Forest Acadian Temperate Forest Rocky Mountains Foothills Parkland Great Plains Parkland Intermontane Shrub-Steppe Rocky Mountains Foothills Fescue Grassland Great Plains Fescue Grassland Great Plains Mixedgrass Grassland Central Tallgrass Grassland Cypress Hills Glaciers Please cite this dataset as: Baldwin, K.; Allen, L.; Basquill, S.; Chapman, K.; Downing, D.; Flynn, N.; MacKenzie, W.; Major, M.; Meades, W.; Meidinger, D.; Morneau, C.; Saucier, J-P.; Thorpe, J.; Uhlig, P. 2019. Vegetation Zones of Canada: a Biogeoclimatic Perspective. [Map] Scale 1:5,000,000. Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service. Great Lake Forestry Center, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Canada.

SummaryThe Essential Connectivity Map shows a statewide network of 850 relatively intact Natural Landscape Blocks (ranging in size from 2,000 to about 3.7 million acres) connected by 192 Essential Connectivity Areas (Table 3.1). There are fewer Essential Connectivity Areas than Natural Landscape Blocks, because each Essential Connectivity Area serves to connect at least two, and as many as 15 Natural Landscape Blocks. Due to the broad, statewide nature of this map, and its focus on connecting very large blocks of mostly protected natural lands, the network omits many areas that are important to biological conservation. The purpose of the map is to focus attention on large areas important to maintaining ecological integrity at the broadest scale. Natural areas excluded from this broad-brush Essential Connectivity Network can therefore not be "written off" as unimportant to connectivity conservation or to sustaining California's natural heritage.DescriptionThe California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) commissioned the California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project because a functional network of connected wildlands is essential to the continued support of California's diverse natural communities in the face of human development and climate change. The Essential Connectivity Map depicts large, relatively natural habitat blocks that support native biodiversity (Natural Landscape Blocks) and areas essential for ecological connectivity between them (Essential Connectivity Areas). This coarse-scale map was based primarily on the concept of ecological integrity, rather than the needs of particular species. Essential Connectivity Areas are placeholder polygons that can inform land-planning efforts, but that should eventually be replaced by more detailed Linkage Designs, developed at finer resolution based on the needs of particular species and ecological processes. It is important to recognize that even areas outside of Natural Landscape Blocks and Essential Connectivity Areas support important ecological values that should not be "written off" as lacking conservation value. Furthermore, because the Essential Habitat Connectivity Map was created at the statewide scale, based on available statewide data layers, and ignored Natural Landscape Blocks smaller than 2,000 acres squared, it has errors of omission that should be addressed at regional and local scales.CEHC Least Cost Corridors (LACo)Mosaic of least-cost corridor results for all Essential Connectivity Areas and clipped to the LA County Boundary. The minimum cell value was used for overlapping cells.CEHC Cost Surface (LACo)Statewide resistance surface generated for least-cost corridor models and clipped to the LA County Boundary.

These boundaries define the regions used in by CA Nature to support activities related to Executive Order N-82-20. These include California's 30x30 effort, Climate Smart Land Strategies, and equitable access to open space. This layer is derived from the 4th California Climate Assessment regions, and enhanced using the California County Boundaries dataset (version 19.1) maintained by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's Fire Resource Assessment Program, and the 3 Nautical Mile marine boundary for California sourced from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

The North America climate data were derived from WorldClim, a set of global climate layers developed by the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, in collaboration with The International Center for Tropical Agriculture and Rainforest CRC with support from NatureServe.The global climate data layers were generated through interpolation of average monthly climate data from weather stations across North America. The result is a 30-arc-second-resolution (1-Km) grid of mean temperature values. The North American data were clipped from the global data and reprojected to the standard Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area projection used for the North American Environmental Atlas. Background information on the WorldClim database is available in: Very High-Resolution Interpolated Climate Surfaces for Global Land Areas; Hijmans, R.J., S.E. Cameron, J.L. Parra, P.G. Jones and A. Jarvis; International Journal of Climatology 25: 1965-1978; 2005.Files Download

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) commissioned the California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project because a functional network of connected wildlands is essential to the continued support of California's diverse natural communities in the face of human development and climate change. The Essential Connectivity Map depicts large, relatively natural habitat blocks that support native biodiversity (Natural Landscape Blocks) and areas essential for ecological connectivity between them (Essential Connectivity Areas). This coarse-scale map was based primarily on the concept of ecological integrity, rather than the needs of particular species. Essential Connectivity Areas are placeholder polygons that can inform land-planning efforts, but that should eventually be replaced by more detailed Linkage Designs, developed at finer resolution based on the needs of particular species and ecological processes. It is important to recognize that even areas outside of Natural Landscape Blocks and Essential Connectivity Areas support important ecological values that should not be "written off" as lacking conservation value. Furthermore, because the Essential Habitat Connectivity Map was created at the statewide scale, based on available statewide data layers, and ignored Natural Landscape Blocks smaller than 2,000 acres squared, it has errors of omission that should be addressed at regional and local scales.

This layer package was loaded using Data Basin.Click here to go to the detail page for this layer package in Data Basin, where you can find out more information, such as full metadata, or use it to create a live web map.