Tropic of Capricorn

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This article is about the circle of latitude. For other uses, see Tropic of Capricorn (disambiguation).

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World map showing the Tropic of Capricorn
Tropic of Capricorn in 1794 Dunn Map of the World
Monument marking the Tropic of Capricorn just north of Antofagasta, Chile
File:Tropic of Capricorn Longreach.jpg
Longreach, Queensland, Australia
Sign marking the tropic in Maringá, Brazil

File:Reloj Solar del Trópico de Capricornio.JPG

The Tropic of Capricorn (or the Southern Tropic) is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point on the December (or southern) solstice. It is thus the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be directly overhead. Its northern equivalent is the Tropic of Cancer.

The Tropic of Capricorn is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. As of 25 April 2024, its latitude is 23°26′10.1″ (or 23.43613°) [1] south of the equator, but it is very gradually moving northward, currently at the rate of 0.47 arcseconds, or 15 metres, per year.[2]

Geography and environment

The Tropic of Capricorn is the dividing line between the Southern Temperate Zone to the south and the tropics to the north. The northern hemisphere equivalent of the Tropic of Capricorn is the Tropic of Cancer.

The position of the Tropic of Capricorn is not fixed, but rather it varies in a complex manner over time; see under circles of latitude for information.

In Australia, areas on the Tropic have some of the most variable rainfall in the world[3] and thus even the wetter areas cannot be generally farmed since irrigation sources invariably dry up in drought years. In southern Africa, where rainfall is more reliable, farming is possible though yields are low even with fertilisers.

In South America, whilst in the continental cratons soils are almost as old as in Australia and Southern Africa, the presence of the geologically young and evolving Andes means that this region is on the western side of the subtropical anticyclones and thus receives warm and humid air from the Atlantic Ocean. As a result, areas in Brazil adjacent to the Tropic are extremely important agricultural regions, producing large quantities of crops such as coffee, and the natural rainforest vegetation has been entirely cleared. In and west of the Andes, however, the Humboldt Current makes conditions extremely arid, creating one of the driest deserts in the world, so that no glaciers exist between Volcán Sajama at 18˚30'S and Cerro Tres Cruces at 27˚S.[4] Vegetation here is almost non-existent, though on the eastern slopes of the Andes rainfall is adequate for rainfed agriculture.

Around the world

Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the Tropic of Capricorn passes through:

Co-ordinates Country, territory or sea Notes
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Atlantic Ocean
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  Namibia Erongo, Khomas, Hardap, Khomas (again), and Omaheke regions
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  Botswana Kgalagadi, Kweneng and Central districts
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  South Africa Limpopo Province
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  Mozambique Gaza and Inhambane provinces
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Indian Ocean Mozambique Channel
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  Madagascar Toliara and Fianarantsoa provinces
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Indian Ocean
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  Australia Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Coral Sea Passing just south of Cato Reef in  Australia's Coral Sea Islands Territory
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Pacific Ocean Passing just north of the Minerva Reefs ( Tonga), and just south of Tubuai ( French Polynesia)
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  Chile Antofagasta Region
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  Argentina Jujuy, Salta, Jujuy (again), Salta (again) and Formosa provinces
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  Paraguay Boquerón, Presidente Hayes, Concepción, San Pedro and Amambay departments
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  Brazil Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná, and São Paulo states
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Atlantic Ocean

Places located along the Tropic of Capricorn

The following cities and landmarks are either located near the Tropic of Capricorn, or the tropic passes through them.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

  • Atsimo-Andrefana Region, Madagascar

  • The Tropic of Capricorn marked in Jujuy Province in northern Argentina

  • Monument marking the Tropic of Capricorn as it passes through Botswana

  • A sign marking the Tropic of Capricorn as it passes through Namibia

  • Trópico de Capricórnio.JPG

    Roadway plaque marking the Tropic of Capricorn in the city of Santana do Parnaíba, Brazil, at the correct latitude for year 1917.

  • TOC sign Brazil.JPG

    Marker for the tropic in Maringá, Paraná, Brazil, July 2012

  • Tocrockhampton.jpg

    Roadside monument marking Tropic of Capricorn in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia, 28 January 2005

  • Tropic-of-Capricorn Rockhampton.jpg

    Monument marking Tropic of Capricorn in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia, 1970

  • Tropic of capricorn Australia.jpg

    Road sign marking Tropic of Capricorn in Western Australia, Australia, 26 August 2008

  • Tropic-capri-australia2.jpg

    Monument marking the Tropic of Capricorn just north of Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia

Relationship between Earth's axial tilt (ε) to the tropical and polar circles

List of countries entirely south of the Tropic of Capricorn

As the major portion of earth's land is located in the Northern Hemisphere there are only four countries entirely south of the Tropic of Capricorn (there are 74 countries entirely north of the Tropic of Cancer):

  •  Lesotho
  •  New Zealand[5]
  •  Swaziland
  •  Uruguay

Name

The Tropic of Capricorn is so named because, when it was named about 2,000 years ago, the sun was also in the direction of the constellation Capricornus (capricorn is Latin for goat horn) at the December solstice. In modern times the sun appears in the constellation Sagittarius during this time. The change is due to precession of the equinoxes. The word "tropic" itself comes from the Greek trope (τροπή), meaning turn, change in direction or circumstances, referring to the fact that the sun appears to "turn back" at the solstices.

See also

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ obliquity of the ecliptic (Eps Mean)
  2. ↑ Montana State University: Milankovitch Cycles & Glaciation
  3. ↑ Geographical Patterning of Interannual Rainfall Variability in the Tropics and Near Tropics
  4. ↑ Exposure dating of Late Glacial and pre-LGM moraines in the Cordon de Doña Rosa, Northern/Central Chile (~31°S)
  5. ↑ The Cook islands, Tokelau and Niue, which are part of the Realm of New Zealand lie above the Tropic of Capricorn.

de:Wendekreis (Breitenkreis)#Südlicher Wendekreis pl:Zwrotnik (geografia)

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