Editing Rain shadow (section)

===North American mainland===
[[File:Great Basin map.gif|thumb|230px|The [[Cascade Range]] to the north and the [[California Coast Ranges]] and the [[Sierra Nevada]] to the south provide a significant rain-shadow for the inland [[Deserts of North America|North American deserts]].]]
On the largest scale, the entirety of the North American [[Interior Plains]] are shielded from the prevailing [[Westerlies]] carrying moist Pacific weather by the [[North American Cordillera]]. More pronounced effects are observed, however, in particular valley regions within the Cordillera, in the direct lee of specific mountain ranges.<ref name="usatoday" /> This includes much of the [[Basin and Range Province]] in the [[United States]] and [[Mexico]].

The [[Pacific Coast Ranges]] create rain shadows near the West Coast:
* The Dungeness Valley around [[Sequim, Washington|Sequim]] and [[Port Angeles]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]] lies in the rain shadow of the [[Olympic Mountains]]. The area averages {{convert|10-15|in|mm|abbr=on}} of rain per year. The rain shadow extends to the eastern Olympic Peninsula, [[Whidbey Island]], parts of the [[San Juan Islands]], and [[Victoria, British Columbia]] which receive between {{convert|18-24|in|mm|abbr=on}} of precipitation each year. [[Seattle]] is also affected by the rain shadow, albeit to a much lesser effect.<ref>{{cite news|author=John Metcalfe|title=The Wet and Slightly Less Wet Microclimates of Seattle|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-14/where-are-the-rainiest-and-driest-microclimates-of-seattle|work=Bllomberg News|date=14 October 2015}}</ref> By contrast, [[Aberdeen, Washington|Aberdeen]], which is situated southwest of the Olympics, receives nearly {{convert|85|in|mm|abbr=on}} of rain per year<ref>
{{cite web
|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USC00450008&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|title = U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: Aberdeen, WA
|access-date = February 17, 2023
}}.</ref>
* The east slopes of the Coast Ranges in central and southern California cut off the southern [[San Joaquin Valley]] from enough precipitation to ensure desert-like conditions in areas around [[Bakersfield, California|Bakersfield]].
* [[San Jose, California|San Jose]], and adjacent cities are usually drier than the rest of the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] because of the rain shadow cast by the highest part of the [[Santa Cruz Mountains]].
* The [[Sonoran Desert]] is bounded to the west by the [[Peninsular Ranges]], but extends even along part of the east coast of the [[Gulf of California]].
* The [[Sierra Madre Occidental]] in Mexico are west of the [[Chihuahuan Desert]].

Most rain shadows in the western [[United States]] are due to the [[Sierra Nevada]] mountains in California and [[Cascade Mountains]], mostly in [[Oregon]] and [[Washington (state)|Washington]].<ref name="usatoday">{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/weather/tg/wrnshdw/wrnshdw.htm |title=How mountains influence rainfall patterns|access-date = 2008-02-29|work=[[USA Today]]|date=2007-11-01}}</ref>
* The Cascades create a rain-shadowed [[Columbia River Drainage Basin|Columbia Basin]] area of [[Eastern Washington]] and valleys in British Columbia, Canada - most notably the [[Thompson River|Thompson]] and [[Nicola River|Nicola]] Valleys which can receive less than {{convert|10|in|mm|order=flip}}  of rain in parts, and the [[Okanagan Valley]] (particularly the south, nearest to the US border) which receives anywhere from 12 to 17 inches of rain annually.<ref>{{cite web|author=Glossary of Meteorology|year=2009|url=http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary/search?id=westerlies1|title=Westerlies|publisher=American Meteorological Society|access-date=2009-04-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100622073904/http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary/search?id=westerlies1|archive-date=2010-06-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icbemp.gov/science/ferguson_42.pdf|title=Climatology of the Interior Columbia River Basin|author=Sue Ferguson|date=2001-09-07|publisher=Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project|access-date=2009-09-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515003307/http://www.icbemp.gov/science/ferguson_42.pdf|archive-date=2009-05-15}}</ref>
* The [[endorheic]] [[Great Basin]] of [[Utah]] and [[Nevada]] is in the rain shadows of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada.<ref>{{cite book | title=An Introduction to Geology |chapter=Deserts |
url=https://geo.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Geology/Book%3A_An_Introduction_to_Geology_(Johnson_Affolter_Inkenbrandt_and_Mosher)/13%3A_Deserts/13.05%3A_The_Great_Basin_and_the_Basin_and_Range |author=Chris Johnson |author2=Matthew D. Affolter |author3=Paul Inkenbrandt |author4=Cam Mosher }}</ref>
* The [[Mojave Desert]] is rain-shadowed by the Sierra Nevada and the [[Transverse Ranges]] of southern California.
* The [[Black Rock Desert]] is in the rain shadows of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada.
* California's [[Owens Valley]] is rain-shadowed by the Sierra Nevada.
* [[Death Valley]] in the United States, behind both the [[Pacific Coast Ranges]] of [[California]] and the [[Sierra Nevada]] range, is the driest place in North America and one of the driest places on the planet. This is also due to its location well below [[sea level]] which tends to cause high pressure and dry conditions to dominate due to the greater weight of the atmosphere above.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

The [[Colorado Front Range]] is limited to precipitation that crosses over the [[Continental Divide of the Americas|Continental Divide]]. While many locations west of the Divide may receive as much as {{convert|40|in|mm|order=flip}}  of precipitation per year, some places on the eastern side, notably the cities of [[Denver]] and [[Pueblo, Colorado]], typically receive only about 12 to 19 inches. Thus, the [[Continental Divide of the Americas|Continental Divide]] acts as a barrier for precipitation. This effect applies only to storms traveling west-to-east. When low pressure systems skirt the [[Rocky Mountains]] and approach from the south, they can generate high precipitation on the eastern side and little or none on the western slope.

Further east:
* The [[Shenandoah Valley]] of Virginia, wedged between the [[Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians]] and the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]] and partially shielded from moisture from the west and southeast, is much drier than the very humid remainder of Virginia and the American Southeast.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cocorahs.org/Media/docs/ClimateSum_VA.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2015-03-16 |archive-date=2020-01-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103030847/https://www.cocorahs.org/Media/docs/ClimateSum_VA.pdf  }}</ref>
* [[Asheville]], North Carolina sits in the rain shadow of the [[Great Balsam Mountains|Balsam]], [[Smoky Mountains|Smoky]], and [[Blue Ridge Mountains]]. While the mountains surrounding Asheville contain the [[Appalachian temperate rainforest]]s, with areas receiving over an annual average precipitation of {{convert|100|in|mm|order=flip}}, the city itself is the driest location in North Carolina, with an annual average precipitation of only {{convert|37|in|mm|order=flip}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wncvitalityindex.org/weather-and-climate/precipitation-variability|title = Precipitation Variability &#124; Western North Carolina Vitality Index}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2019/02/11/answer-man-asheville-temperate-rainforest-wake-record-rain/2836281002/|title = Answer Man: Asheville a 'temperate rainforest' in wake of record rain?}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ncparks.gov/gorges-state-park/home|title = Gorges State Park &#124; NC State Parks}}</ref>
* [[Ashcroft, British Columbia|Ashcroft]], British Columbia, the only true desert in Canada, sits in the rain shadow of the [[Coast Mountains]] of Canada.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://infotel.ca/newsitem/canadas-only-desert-is-in-bc-but-not-where-you-think-it-is/it75548|title = Canada's only desert is in B.C. But not where you think it is}}</ref>
* [[Yellowknife]], the capital and most populous city in the [[Northwest Territories]] of [[Canada]], is located in the rain shadow of the mountain ranges to the west of the city.