Okay..I am not stupid but....?

Question

I live in the "high desert" we sit roughly at 3200 feet. We have Cold winters (snow), mild springs, SCORCHING SUMMERS (110+) and Hot falls. Here is my question: Why is it the higher you go the colder it gets? Logic would have you think that the closer you get to your heat source AKA the Sun it would get warmer. Why is this not true?

Answer 1

What makes you think you're getting 'closer' to your heat source? The sun is 150 million km away. Here's an analogy. If the sun was in England and you were in New York, a proportionate 5000 ft distance would be two inches. In other words, you are asking why moving two inches away from New York does not make you go closer to England. It does, but it MAKES NO DIFFERENCE! The fact that the air gets thinner with altitude, and has less capacity to store heat, makes all the difference.

Answer 2

3200 feet above sea level is only a very, very, very, very, very small percentage closer to the sun than sea level is.  And it is a bit hotter as a result of that, but only a very, very, very, very, very small amount hotter.

On the other hand, there are other things about that height that make it colder.  And the effect of those things outweighs the effect of being closer to the sun.

Answer 3

air is an insulator the higher you go the air thins the atmosphere cant hold in the heat. That is why a lot of very high mountains have snow on top year round

Answer 4

The air is much much thinner higher up above sea level so there is not as much humidity and moisture in the air, therefore, it is colder.