_________ is the dry side of the mountain because the mountain blocks winds carrying moisture.
Answer: east side
No. The east side of a mountain isn't always the dry side.
In the mountains above Albuquerque, that's not true. The dry side faces west, overlooking the city. The east side has the trees, gets lots of snow, and is favored for skiing.
You need to decide on a single place, and see which theory holds up!
Ms. Sue and Writeacher are correct. Prevailing winds do come from the west, so sometimes the east side of a mountain may be drier than the west, but it's not always the case, depending on local conditions. Generalities are often misleading.
To determine which side of the mountain is the dry side, you need to understand how mountains can affect weather patterns. When a mountain is situated in the path of prevailing winds, it can create a phenomenon known as a rain shadow effect.
When moist air encounters a mountain range, it is forced to rise, and as it ascends, it cools down. The cooling causes the moisture in the air to condense and form clouds, leading to precipitation, usually in the form of rain or snow. As the air continues to move up and over the mountain, it gets depleted of moisture, resulting in the opposite side of the mountain being relatively dry.
Now, to determine which side of the mountain is the dry side, we need to consider the direction of the prevailing winds. In the Northern Hemisphere, the prevailing winds generally blow from west to east. Therefore, if a mountain range is situated in this wind path, the east side of the mountain would be the dry side.
This is because as the moist air approaches the west side of the mountain, it rises and releases its moisture in the form of precipitation. By the time the air descends on the other side (the east side), it has lost much of its moisture content, resulting in drier conditions.
So, in this case, since the mountain is blocking winds carrying moisture, the dry side would be the east side.