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How do mountain rain shadows create deserts?
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Desert
Sand dunes in the Sahara, near Merzouga, Morocco.
Mountain rain shadows create deserts through a process known as orographic precipitation. When moist air encounters a mountain range, it is forced upward, causing the air to cool and release its moisture as rain or snow on the windward side of the range.12
By the time this air mass crosses over the mountain ridge and descends onto the leeward side, it has been significantly depleted of its water vapor. This dry, sinking air creates a rain shadow, an area characterized by low precipitation. Because these regions receive very little moisture, they often develop into arid desert ecosystems.1324