Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America and Eurasia), typically in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 or 60 degrees north), often within large landmasses, where prevailing winds blow overland bringing some precipitation, and temperatures are not moderated by oceans.
Continental climates occur mostly in the Northern Hemisphere due to the large landmasses found there. Most of northern and northeastern China, northern Mongolia, most of Korea, central Afghanistan, parts of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, eastern and southeastern Europe, much of the Russian Federation south of the Arctic Circle, central and southeastern Canada, and the central and northeastern United States have this type of climate. Continentality is a measure of the degree to which a region experiences this type of climate.