Who did not dream to go to the sea, in the jungle or to sunbathe on the beautiful sandy beaches? This is what many want. What is so special about these places? The tropics are, at first glance, a paradise for photographers and vacationers. To some extent, it is, but it is worth looking a little further and it becomes clear that these places are a whole world with its own laws and inhabitants.
When viewed from the point of view of geographical location, the tropics are a climatic zone that stretches across the planet along the equator. More than forty countries are known whose territory it crosses. This is almost the middle of the planet, two belts occupying 25 percent of the global area.
Climate
According to the generally accepted classification, the tropics is a territory located between the subequatorial and subtropical zones. They are divided into northern and southern zones according to location. Simply put, on which hemisphere is located, the name takes over. The climate in the tropical zone is diverse, it all depends on the territory. Both humid forests and deserts can be found.
The wind in these territories is mainly eastern - all due to pressure drops. It is called the Passat. Do not confuse the equator and the tropics, these are different climatic zones.
The air temperature here varies depending on the area and its location. For example, in the coastal territories of the tropical zone, the air in the summer heats up to about 27 degrees Celsius, in the winter the thermometer does not drop below 10. But this is only where the sea is near. If you monitor the temperature fluctuations within the continents, you can see that the air temperature can fluctuate from +14 ° to +40 ° . For example, in northern Africa and California, an increase of up to +55 ° C was recorded, just as in Australia. Humidity in the tropics also varies depending on the situation - the closer to the sea, the more rainfall.
Plants
Rainforests have earned their fame due to their density and diversity, they have a huge biomass. Most of the plant world in humid places has a five-level organization. In the forests of tropical zones there are a lot of parasite plants, vines, lichens, ferns and orchids. Interestingly, most of the fallen leaves decompose very quickly due to very active microorganisms.
Swamps
This is another attraction. Tropical swamps occupy a significant area of the entire belt. This is because the soil is poor in water-soluble elements, and all nutrients are washed away by frequent precipitation or are immediately absorbed by plants. Photos of the tropics, their beauty and exoticism, can be seen in our article.
Fauna
Among the animals that live in this climate zone, there are a lot of predators, the leading position among which is the cat family. The most famous representatives are the jaguar, leopard and ocelot. In addition, the tropics are famous for their terrible inhabitants for most people - spiders, scolopendras and scorpions.
And the variety of amphibians will amaze any person and make even a simple frog afraid. A distinctive feature of the inhabitants of tropical rainforests can be considered a bright color. It is a kind of signal to predators that the creature is poisonous. Some species use this as a cover.
The rainforest is rich in various types of life forms, from bacteria to mammals. For example, in the Amazon, there are more than 1,800 species of butterflies only. Lizards, salamanders and snakes - all these amphibians simply adore the climate of tropical forests. It is not surprising that these territories account for about 80 percent of all species of animals on the planet. And about the giant population of monkeys and say nothing, everyone knows about it.
Deserts
Noteworthy features are in the local fauna. These regions are characterized by swift inhabitants, the color of which varies from brown to sandy yellow, sometimes gray individuals are also found. Unlike the rainforests, there are not many varieties of large animals in the desert. Most often you can find arthropods, lizards or small rodents, for example, jerboa or gerbil. This is due to the fact that a large animal cannot feed itself here, water and food are in short supply.
Tropics - a multifaceted territory, each of the regions is interesting in its own way. Somewhere the most popular attraction is culture, somewhere - the fauna. Regularly large teams of researchers from scientific organizations around the world go on lengthy expeditions to study local plants and animals.
The equator, the tropics, the polar circles are parallels that are important in terms of understanding the concept of climatic zones. These are the most explored places on the planet. In the tropical zone there are many resorts, tourist centers and simply wonderful places to relax. But there are also territories on which the human foot has not set foot, sparsely visited and sparsely populated.