You Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn they are two imaginary lines that cut the terrestrial globe in the horizontal direction.
They have the same distance from the Equator Line and delimit the tropical zone, being considered “parallel”, that is, lines in the East-West direction.
From the Greek, the term "tropic" means "a complete turn".
World Map with the Equator and the Tropics
They are named for their proximity to the constellations Cancer and Capricorn, which were observed by astronomers in ancient times.
These imaginary lines were created due to the inclination of the sun's incidence in different parts of the planet during the solstices.
Therefore, when it is summer in the northern hemisphere (and winter in the south), the sun's rays fall directly on the Tropic of Cancer.
Likewise, when it is summer in the southern hemisphere, the rays strike the Tropic of Capricorn.
Note that the zone located between the tropics is called the intertropical (between the tropics).
Read too: equator line
Latitude and longitude
Latitude and longitude are two essential concepts in studies of cartography.
Through its coordinates we can find any location on the planet.
Both are measured in degrees, however, latitude corresponds to a geographic coordinate that can vary from 0º to 90º in a north (N) or south (S) direction.
In turn, the longitude can vary 0º and 180º to the East (L) or to the West (O), from the Greenwich meridian, called the zero degree meridian.
Read too: Latitude and longitude
Parallels and Meridians
You parallels they are the horizontal lines of the globe determined by latitude, for example the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Note that the closer to the planet's poles (north and south), the smaller the parallels.
On the other hand, the Meridians are the vertical lines that cut across the planet. They are represented by semicircumferences that connect the north and south poles, for example, the zero meridian, called the Greenwich Mean Time.
Read too: Parallels and Meridians.
Tropic of Cancer
The Tropic of Cancer is located in the Northern Hemisphere of the planet. It lies above the Equator at latitude 23º27’N (twenty-three degrees and twenty-seven minutes) .
It passes through 19 countries in America, Africa and Asia: Mexico, Bahamas, United States, Hawaii, Egypt, Algeria, Chad, Mauritania, Libya, Mali, Niger, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, China, UAE, India, Myanmar, Oman and Taiwan.
Tropic of Capricorn
The Tropic of Capricorn is located in the southern hemisphere of the planet. It lies below the Equator at latitude 23º27’ S (or -23.27º) .
It passes through 10 countries in America, Africa and Oceania: Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Madagascar, Botswana and Australia.
In Brazil, the Tropic of Capricorn crosses the states of Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná and São Paulo.
