To determine which area of the United States received the most overall precipitation in the year 2000, we need to look at the provided ranges for annual mean precipitation across different regions and identify the region with the highest upper bound for precipitation.
Here are the given regions and their associated precipitation ranges:
1. Rocky Mountains: < 5.01 inches
2. Great Plains: 5.01 - 12.00 inches
3. Sierra Nevada Mountains: 70.01 - 100.00 inches
4. Atlantic coast: 30.01 - 40.00 inches
To find out which area had the most overall precipitation, we need to look at the upper bounds of these ranges:
- The Rocky Mountains have an upper bound of 5.01 inches.
- The Great Plains have an upper bound of 12.00 inches.
- The Sierra Nevada Mountains have an upper bound of 100.00 inches.
- The Atlantic coast has an upper bound of 40.00 inches.
Comparing these upper bounds:
- 5.01 inches (Rocky Mountains)
- 12.00 inches (Great Plains)
- 100.00 inches (Sierra Nevada Mountains)
- 40.00 inches (Atlantic coast)
The area with the highest upper bound for annual mean precipitation is the Sierra Nevada Mountains, with a range of 70.01 to 100.00 inches. Thus, the Sierra Nevada Mountains received the most overall precipitation in 2000.
Therefore, the correct answer is "C. Sierra Nevada Mountains."
