The map of our planet is covered with a network of thin imaginary lines - parallels, meridians, equator, tropics and polar circles. In this article we will talk in detail about what the Southern Tropic is, what kind of line it is, through which countries and geographical objects it passes.
Earth and its "marking"
Before starting the story of the Southern Tropic, it is not superfluous to recall three important points. All of them are well known to us from the school course of general geography:
- The earth has the shape of a ball.
- It revolves around the Sun and around its axis.
- The axis of our planet is tilted with respect to the orbit (the magnitude of this tilt is 66.5 degrees).
These three points will help us understand the following material.
So, five conditional (imaginary) lines cross our planet. It:
- Equator. Here the Sun is at its zenith twice a year, that is, it shines down at a right angle (March 21 and September 23).
- Tropics (North and South). Here the celestial luminary appears at its zenith once a year - on June 22 above the North, and on December 22 above the South.
- The Arctic circles (North and South) are the lines that border the territories where unique astronomical phenomena are observed - the so-called polar days and polar nights.
South tropic: latitude and meaning of the term
The word "tropic" is of ancient Greek origin. And it is translated into Russian as a “turn." Obviously, we are talking here about the conditional movement (turn) of the Sun to the point of its solstice (zenith). The southern tropic is also called the tropic of Capricorn. Where does this name come from? The fact is that two millennia ago the celestial luminary during the winter solstice was part of this constellation.
The southern tropic is one of the five main parallels of the Earth. Its exact coordinates are 23 26 ′ 16 ″ south latitude (see map below). At the time of the winter solstice (namely, December 22), the sun's rays fall here vertically downward, that is, at an angle of 90 degrees. In the opposite hemisphere of the planet, the equivalent of the tropic of Capricorn is the Northern tropic. It is located at the same distance from the line of the earth's equator as the South.
As a result of a change in the inclination of the earth's axis, the position of the tropics also changes. So, today, the South tropic of the Earth is gradually shifting towards the equator line.
What objects does the tropic go through?
Which countries does the tropic of Capricorn cross? There are ten such states:
- Chile.
- Argentina.
- Paraguay.
- Brazil.
- Namibia.
- Botswana.
- SOUTH AFRICA.
- Mozambique.
- Madagascar.
- Australia.
There are few cities on the South Tropic. The largest of them:
- Sao paulo.
- Maringa.
- Ubatuba.
- Rockhampton.
- Alice Springs.
The tropic of Capricorn mainly lies in the expanses of the oceans. Within land, it passes through the territories of three continents of the Earth: Africa, Australia and South America. The tropic also crosses the following geographical features (from west to east):
- Andes.
- La Plata lowland.
- Brazilian plateau.
- Deserts Namib and Kalahari.
- Great Sandy Desert.
- Great Dividing Range.
Tropical climate and its features
Lines of the tropics limit that part of the earth's surface that receives the maximum amount of solar energy and heat. Thanks to this, a dry and very hot climate has formed here.
The main features of the tropical climate of the Earth :
- High atmospheric pressure.
- The dominance of the trade winds (or east winds).
- A small amount of precipitation (about 200-300 mm per year).
- Low cloud cover.
- Hot summers and the absence of winter as such (in the "cold" months, air temperature rarely drops below +10 degrees).
In the tropics, it is customary to distinguish not four (as in the temperate zone), but only two seasons of the year: a relatively humid winter and arid summer. In this climatic zone, there are separate especially hot spots, which are located, as a rule, in the depths of the continental land. In summer, the air here often warms up to +50 degrees and above.