About the Island

    My Island is located off the East coast of the United States of America.  It's latitude is 40 degrees and its longitude is 65 degrees.  This island has a Temperate Deciduous biome which means my island undergoes all four seasons and it's always changing. Although it consists of deciduous trees, evergreens do grow there. My islands forests have hot summers and cold winters. Because of this, the animals and plants have special adaptations to cope with their habitat.  The meaning of the word deciduous describes exactly what the leaves on these trees do: change color in autumn, fall off in the winter, and grow back again in the spring. This is a simple adaptation to survive winter. Deciduous forests receive from 2 to 5 feet (0.5-1.5 m) of precipitation (both rain and snow) each year.  It is usually distributed evenly over the island through out the year but more so in the dense deciduous forest in the north part of my island.  The average temperature of my island is roughly 50 degrees Fahrenheit but gets as high as 86 degrees Fahrenheit depending on the altitude of the forest.  Forests higher in the mountains are colder.  Humidity in these forests is high, from 60% to 80%.

If you look at the graph to the left, you'll see that next to the rainforest, my island, which has the temperate deciduous forest gets the second-most amount of rainfall per year. In the winter, this is seen as snow.

    The leaves on the deciduous trees fall because during the winter months water is generally not available to keep the leaves of some plants alive. Therefore, the leaves of some plants fall off and grow back in the spring.  The soil of my island is quite fertile, since it is often enriched with falling leaves, twigs, logs, and dead organisms.

       The seasons:    

    My Island undergoes all four seasons because of the tilt of the Earth's Axis.  At different times of the year, the sun's rays hit different parts of the globe. The angle of the Earth's axis tilts my island towards the sun during the summer.

Animals: Precipitation on my island is spread throughout the year. However, during the winter months it is usually frozen and unavailable to animals. Animals living within my island must adjust to cold winters and hot summers.

Dimensions/Geography: Tomasisle has a 13 mile diameter and it's highest point above sea level is Mt. Thomas, at 5,000. On the coast of the island strong winds produce sand dunes and ridges. A little in, you reach the dense forest.   Tomasisle is known for it's Poison Ivy Field, which is located in the north east part of the island.  As you get down to the middle of the island you will reach Thomas' Mountain range. These mountains stretch for over 100 miles of the island and range from 500 feet to 7,000 feet.  Coming off of the mountains is the Long Thomas River which leads all the way down to the south coast of the island. Along the way down the river, there are many places where it separates from the main river, creating a delta which nourishes all the plant life.  Because if this, the land around the river is very moist. 

 Animals need these trees deciduous trees because they provide shelter and some use them for food and even water from the leaves. The trees adapt to this forest by having thick bark barriers on the trees to keep the animals out and the trees from dying.

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