Why does snow stay on mountains?
Since the top of a mountain is closer to the sun than the base is, the peak should be warm and toasty, right? Actually the top is the mountain’s coldest spot. Here’s why: The dense atmosphere near the base easily traps heat. But the thinner atmosphere near the peak traps less heat, and the temperature gets colder and colder the higher you go up. Above a certain point, called the snow line, snow never melts. So when it comes to mountains, snow doesn’t always mean wintertime.
