Geographical zone - wikipedia Geographical zone This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( March 2011 ) Map of annual average temperatures as a function of location. The five main latitude regions of the Earth 's surface comprise geographical zones, divided by the major circles of latitude. The differences between them relate to climate. They are as follows : The North frigid zone, between the Arctic Circle 66.5 ° N and the North Pole 90 ° N. Covers 4.12 % of Earth 's surface. The North temperate zone, between the Tropic of Cancer 23.5 ° N and the Arctic Circle 66.5 ° N. Covers 25.99 % of Earth 's surface. The Torrid zone, between the Tropic of Cancer 23.5 ° N and the Tropic of Capricorn 23.5 ° S. Covers 39.78 % of Earth 's surface. The South temperate zone, between the Tropic of Capricorn 23.5 ° S and the Antarctic Circle 66.5 ° S. Covers 25.99 % of Earth 's surface. The South frigid zone, from Antarctic Circle 66.5 ° S and the South Pole 90 ° S. Covers 4.12 % of Earth 's surface. Earth 's climatic zones Ice cap Tundra Boreal Warm temperate Subtropical Tropical On the basis of latitudinal extent, the globe is divided into three broad heat zones. Contents 1 Torrid Zone 2 Temperate Zones 3 Frigid Zones 4 History 5 See also 6 References Torrid zone The Torrid is also known as the Tropics. The zone is bounded on the north by the Tropic of Cancer and on the south by the Tropic of Capricorn ; these latitudes mark the northern and southern extremes in which the sun seasonally passes directly overhead. This happens annually, but in the region between, the sun passes overhead twice a year. In the Northern Hemisphere, in the sun 's apparent northward migration after the March equinox, it passes overhead once, then after the June solstice, at which time it reaches the Tropic of Cancer, it passes over again on its apparent southward journey. After the September equinox the sun passes into the Southern Hemisphere. It then passes similarly over the southern tropical regions until it reaches the Tropic of Capricorn at the December solstice, and back again as it returns northwards to the Equator. Temperate zones In the two Temperate Zones, consisting of the tepid latitudes, the Sun is never directly overhead, and the climate is mild, generally ranging from warm to cool. The four annual seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter, occur in these areas. The North Temperate Zone includes Europe, Northern Asia, and North and Central America. The South Temperate Zone includes Southern Australasia, southern South America, and Southern Africa. Frigid zones The two Frigid Zones, or polar regions, experience the midnight sun and the polar night for part of the year - at the edge of the zone there is one day at the winter solstice when the Sun is invisible, and one day at the summer solstice when the sun remains above the horizon for 24 hours. In the center of the zone ( the pole ) the day is one year long with six months of daylight and six months of night. The Frigid Zones are the coldest regions of Earth and are generally covered in ice and snow. History The concept of a geographical zone was first hypothesized by the ancient Greek scholar Parmenides and lastingly modified by Aristotle. Both philosophers theorized the Earth divided into three types of climatic zones based on their distance from the equator. Like Parmeneides, thinking that the area near the equator was too hot for habitation, Aristotle dubbed the region around the equator ( from 23.5 ° N to 23.5 ° S ) the `` Torrid Zone. '' Both philosophers reasoned the region from the Arctic Circle to the pole to be permanently frozen. This region, thought uninhabitable, was called the `` Frigid Zone. '' The only area believed to be habitable was the northern `` Temperate Zone '' ( the southern one not having been discovered ), lying between the `` Frigid Zones '' and the `` Torrid Zone ''. However, humans have inhabited almost all climates on Earth, including inside the Arctic Circle. As knowledge of the Earth 's geography improved, a second `` Temperate Zone '' was discovered south of the equator, and a second `` Frigid Zone '' was discovered around the Antarctic. Although Aristotle 's map was oversimplified, the general idea was correct. Today, the most commonly used climate map is the Köppen climate classification, developed by Russian climatologist of German descent and amateur botanist Wladimir Köppen ( 1846 -- 1940 ), which divides the world into five major climate regions, based on average annual precipitation, average monthly precipitation, and average monthly temperature. An updated Köppen -- Geiger climate map See also Clime Circles of latitude Climate classification Tropics Subtropics Temperate Polar region Hardiness zone References Jump up ^ Strab. 2, 2, 1 - 2 in : A.H. Coxon and R.D. McKirahan ( eds ), The Fragments of Parmenides : A Critical Text With Introduction, and Translation, the Ancient Testimonia and a Commentary, 2nd edn ( Phronesis : Supplementary Volumes 3 ; Assen, Dover ( NH ), 2009 ), p. 160. Jump up ^ Aristotle, Meteorology, Bekker numbers 362a33 - 362b29 Regions of the world Regions of Africa Central Africa Guinea region Gulf of Guinea Cape Lopez Mayombe Igboland Mbaise Maputaland Pool Malebo Congo Basin Chad Basin Congolese rainforests Ouaddaï highlands Ennedi Plateau East Africa African Great Lakes Albertine Rift East African Rift Great Rift Valley Gregory Rift Rift Valley lakes Swahili coast Virunga Mountains Zanj Horn of Africa Afar Triangle Al - Habash Barbara Danakil Alps Danakil Desert Ethiopian Highlands Gulf of Aden Gulf of Tadjoura Indian Ocean islands Comoros Islands North Africa Maghreb Barbary Coast Bashmur Ancient Libya Atlas Mountains Nile Valley Cataracts of the Nile Darfur Gulf of Aqaba Lower Egypt Lower Nubia Middle Egypt Nile Delta Nuba Mountains Nubia The Sudans Upper Egypt Western Sahara West Africa Pepper Coast Gold Coast Slave Coast Ivory Coast Cape Palmas Cape Mesurado Guinea region Gulf of Guinea Niger Basin Guinean Forests of West Africa Niger Delta Inner Niger Delta Southern Africa Madagascar Central Highlands ( Madagascar ) Northern Highlands Rhodesia North South Thembuland Succulent Karoo Nama Karoo Bushveld Highveld Fynbos Cape Floristic Region Kalahari Desert Okavango Delta Macro-regions Aethiopia Arab world Commonwealth realm East African montane forests Eastern Desert Equatorial Africa Françafrique Gibraltar Arc Greater Middle East Islands of Africa List of countries where Arabic is an official language Mediterranean Basin MENA MENASA Middle East Mittelafrika Negroland Northeast Africa Portuguese - speaking African countries Sahara Sahel Sub-Saharan Africa Sudan ( region ) Sudanian Savanna Tibesti Mountains Tropical Africa Regions of Asia Central Greater Middle East Aral Sea Aralkum Desert Caspian Sea Dead Sea Sea of Galilee Transoxiana Turan Greater Khorasan Ariana Khwarezm Sistan Kazakhstania Eurasian Steppe Asian Steppe Kazakh Steppe Pontic -- Caspian steppe Mongolian - Manchurian grassland Wild Fields Yedisan Muravsky Trail Ural Ural Mountains Volga region Idel - Ural Kolyma Transbaikal Pryazovia Bjarmaland Kuban Zalesye Ingria Novorossiya Gornaya Shoriya Tulgas Iranian Plateau Altai Mountains Pamir Mountains Tian Shan Badakhshan Wakhan Corridor Wakhjir Pass Mount Imeon Mongolian Plateau Western Regions Taklamakan Desert Karakoram Trans - Karakoram Tract Siachen Glacier North Inner Asia Northeast Far East Russian Far East Okhotsk - Manchurian taiga Extreme North Siberia Baikalia ( Lake Baikal ) Transbaikal Khatanga Gulf Baraba steppe Kamchatka Peninsula Amur Basin Yenisei Gulf Yenisei Basin Beringia Sikhote - Alin East Japanese archipelago Northeastern Japan Arc Sakhalin Island Arc Korean Peninsula Gobi Desert Taklamakan Desert Greater Khingan Mongolian Plateau Inner Asia Inner Mongolia Outer Mongolia China proper Manchuria Outer Manchuria Inner Manchuria Northeast China Plain Mongolian - Manchurian grassland North China Plain Yan Mountains Kunlun Mountains Liaodong Peninsula Himalayas Tibetan Plateau Tibet Tarim Basin Northern Silk Road Hexi Corridor Nanzhong Lingnan Liangguang Jiangnan Jianghuai Guanzhong Huizhou Wu Jiaozhou Zhongyuan Shaannan Ordos Loop Loess Plateau Shaanbei Hamgyong Mountains Central Mountain Range Japanese Alps Suzuka Mountains Leizhou Peninsula Gulf of Tonkin Yangtze River Delta Pearl River Delta Yenisei Basin Altai Mountains Wakhan Corridor Wakhjir Pass West Greater Middle East MENA MENASA Middle East Red Sea Caspian Sea Mediterranean Sea Zagros Mountains Persian Gulf Pirate Coast Strait of Hormuz Greater and Lesser Tunbs Al - Faw Peninsula Gulf of Oman Gulf of Aqaba Gulf of Aden Balochistan Arabian Peninsula Najd Hejaz Tihamah Eastern Arabia South Arabia Hadhramaut Arabian Peninsula coastal fog desert Tigris -- Euphrates Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia Lower Mesopotamia Sawad Nineveh plains Akkad ( region ) Babylonia Canaan Aram Eber - Nari Suhum Eastern Mediterranean Mashriq Kurdistan Levant Southern Levant Transjordan Jordan Rift Valley Israel Levantine Sea Golan Heights Hula Valley Galilee Gilead Judea Samaria Arabah Anti-Lebanon Mountains Sinai Peninsula Arabian Desert Syrian Desert Fertile Crescent Azerbaijan Syria Palestine Iranian Plateau Armenian Highlands Caucasus Caucasus Mountains Greater Caucasus Lesser Caucasus North Caucasus South Caucasus Kur - Araz Lowland Lankaran Lowland Alborz Absheron Peninsula Anatolia Cilicia Cappadocia Alpide belt South Greater India Indian subcontinent Himalayas Hindu Kush Western Ghats Eastern Ghats Ganges Basin Ganges Delta Pashtunistan Punjab Balochistan Kashmir Kashmir Valley Pir Panjal Range Thar Desert Indus Valley Indus River Delta Indus Valley Desert Indo - Gangetic Plain Eastern coastal plains Western Coastal Plains Meghalaya subtropical forests MENASA Lower Gangetic plains moist deciduous forests Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows Doab Bagar tract Great Rann of Kutch Little Rann of Kutch Deccan Plateau Coromandel Coast Konkan False Divi Point Hindi Belt Ladakh Aksai Chin Gilgit - Baltistan Baltistan Shigar Valley Karakoram Saltoro Mountains Siachen Glacier Bay of Bengal Gulf of Khambhat Gulf of Kutch Gulf of Mannar Trans - Karakoram Tract Wakhan Corridor Wakhjir Pass Lakshadweep Andaman and Nicobar Islands Andaman Islands Nicobar Islands Maldive Islands Alpide belt Southeast Mainland Indochina Malay Peninsula Maritime Peninsular Malaysia Sunda Islands Greater Sunda Islands Lesser Sunda Islands Indonesian Archipelago Timor New Guinea Bonis Peninsula Papuan Peninsula Huon Peninsula Huon Gulf Bird 's Head Peninsula Gazelle Peninsula Philippine Archipelago Luzon Visayas Mindanao Leyte Gulf Gulf of Thailand East Indies Nanyang Alpide belt Asia - Pacific Tropical Asia Ring of Fire Regions of Europe North Nordic Northwestern Scandinavia Scandinavian Peninsula Fennoscandia Baltoscandia Sápmi West Nordic Baltic Baltic Sea Gulf of Bothnia Gulf of Finland Iceland Faroe Islands East Danubian countries Prussia Galicia Volhynia Donbass Sloboda Ukraine Sambia Peninsula Amber Coast Curonian Spit Izyum Trail Lithuania Minor Nemunas Delta Baltic Baltic Sea Vyborg Bay Karelia East Karelia Karelian Isthmus Lokhaniemi Southeastern Balkans Aegean Islands Gulf of Chania North Caucasus Greater Caucasus Kabardia European Russia Southern Russia Central Baltic Baltic Sea Alpine states Alpide belt Mitteleuropa Visegrád Group West Benelux Low Countries Northwest British Isles English Channel Channel Islands Cotentin Peninsula Normandy Brittany Gulf of Lion Iberia Al - Andalus Baetic System Pyrenees Alpide belt South Italian Peninsula Insular Italy Tuscan Archipelago Aegadian Islands Iberia Al - Andalus Baetic System Gibraltar Arc Southeastern Mediterranean Crimea Alpide belt Germanic Celtic Slavic countries Uralic European Plain Eurasian Steppe Pontic -- Caspian steppe Wild Fields Pannonian Basin Great Hungarian Plain Little Hungarian Plain Eastern Slovak Lowland Regions of North America Northern Eastern Canada Western Canada Canadian Prairies Central Canada Northern Canada Atlantic Canada The Maritimes French Canada English Canada Acadia Acadian Peninsula Quebec City -- Windsor Corridor Peace River Country Cypress Hills Palliser 's Triangle Canadian Shield Interior Alaska - Yukon lowland taiga Newfoundland ( island ) Vancouver Island Gulf Islands Strait of Georgia Canadian Arctic Archipelago Labrador Peninsula Gaspé Peninsula Avalon Peninsula Bay de Verde Peninsula Brodeur Peninsula Melville Peninsula Bruce Peninsula Banks Peninsula ( Nunavut ) Cook Peninsula Gulf of Boothia Georgian Bay Hudson Bay James Bay Greenland Pacific Northwest Inland Northwest Northeast New England Mid-Atlantic Commonwealth West Midwest Upper Midwest Mountain States Intermountain West Basin and Range Province Oregon Trail Mormon Corridor Calumet Region Southwest Old Southwest Llano Estacado Central United States Tallgrass prairie South South Central Deep South Upland South Four Corners East Coast West Coast Gulf Coast Third Coast Eastern United States Appalachia Trans - Mississippi Great North Woods Great Plains Interior Plains Great Lakes Great Basin Great Basin Desert Acadia Ozarks Ark - La - Tex Waxhaws Siouxland Twin Tiers Driftless Area Palouse Piedmont Atlantic coastal plain Outer Lands Black Dirt Region Blackstone Valley Piney Woods Rocky Mountains Mojave Desert The Dakotas The Carolinas Shawnee Hills San Fernando Valley Tornado Alley North Coast Lost Coast Emerald Triangle San Francisco Bay Area San Francisco Bay North Bay ( San Francisco Bay Area ) East Bay ( San Francisco Bay Area ) Silicon Valley Interior Alaska - Yukon lowland taiga Gulf of Mexico Lower Colorado River Valley Sacramento -- San Joaquin River Delta Yukon -- Kuskokwim Delta Colville Delta Arkansas Delta Mobile -- Tensaw River Delta Mississippi Delta Mississippi River Delta Columbia River Estuary Great Basin High Desert Monterey Peninsula Upper Peninsula of Michigan Lower Peninsula of Michigan Virginia Peninsula Keweenaw Peninsula Middle Peninsula Delmarva Peninsula Alaska Peninsula Kenai Peninsula Niagara Peninsula Beringia Belt regions Bible Belt Black Belt Corn Belt Cotton Belt Frost Belt Rice Belt Rust Belt Sun Belt Snow Belt Latin Northern Mexico Baja California Peninsula Gulf of California Colorado River Delta Gulf of Mexico Soconusco Tierra Caliente La Mixteca La Huasteca Bajío Valley of Mexico Mezquital Valley Sierra Madre de Oaxaca Yucatán Peninsula Basin and Range Province Western Caribbean Zone Isthmus of Panama Gulf of Panama Pearl Islands Azuero Peninsula Mosquito Coast West Indies Antilles Greater Antilles Lesser Antilles Leeward Leeward Antilles Windward Lucayan Archipelago Southern Caribbean Aridoamerica Mesoamerica Oasisamerica Northern Middle Anglo Latin French Hispanic American Cordillera Ring of Fire LAC Regions of Oceania Australasia Gulf of Carpentaria New Guinea Bonis Peninsula Papuan Peninsula Huon Peninsula Huon Gulf Bird 's Head Peninsula Gazelle Peninsula New Zealand South Island North Island Coromandel Peninsula Zealandia New Caledonia Solomon Islands ( archipelago ) Vanuatu Kula Gulf Australia Capital Country Eastern Australia Lake Eyre basin Murray -- Darling basin Northern Australia Nullarbor Plain Outback Southern Australia Maralinga Sunraysia Great Victoria Desert Gulf of Carpentaria Gulf St Vincent Lefevre Peninsula Fleurieu Peninsula Yorke Peninsula Eyre Peninsula Mornington Peninsula Bellarine Peninsula Mount Henry Peninsula Melanesia Islands Region Bismarck Archipelago Solomon Islands Archipelago Fiji New Caledonia Papua New Guinea Vanuatu Micronesia Caroline Islands Federated States of Micronesia Palau Guam Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru Northern Mariana Islands Wake Island Polynesia Easter Island Hawaiian Islands Cook Islands French Polynesia Austral Islands Gambier Islands Marquesas Islands Society Islands Tuamotu Kermadec Islands Mangareva Islands Samoa Tokelau Tonga Tuvalu Ring of Fire Regions of South America East Amazon basin Atlantic Forest Caatinga Cerrado North Caribbean South America West Indies Los Llanos The Guianas Amazon basin Amazon rainforest Gulf of Paria Paria Peninsula Paraguaná Peninsula Orinoco Delta South Tierra del Fuego Patagonia Pampas Pantanal Gran Chaco Chiquitano dry forests Valdes Peninsula West Andes Tropical Andes Wet Andes Dry Andes Pariacaca mountain range Altiplano Atacama Desert Latin Hispanic American Cordillera Ring of Fire LAC Polar regions Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula East Antarctica West Antarctica Eklund Islands Ecozone Extreme points Islands Arctic Arctic Alaska British Arctic Territories Canadian Arctic Archipelago Finnmark Greenland Northern Canada Northwest Territories Nunavik Nunavut Russian Arctic Sakha Sápmi Yukon North American Arctic Earth 's oceans and seas Arctic Ocean Amundsen Gulf Barents Sea Beaufort Sea Chukchi Sea East Siberian Sea Greenland Sea Gulf of Boothia Kara Sea Laptev Sea Lincoln Sea Prince Gustav Adolf Sea Pechora Sea Queen Victoria Sea Wandel Sea White Sea Atlantic Ocean Adriatic Sea Aegean Sea Alboran Sea Archipelago Sea Argentine Sea Baffin Bay Balearic Sea Baltic Sea Bay of Biscay Bay of Bothnia Bay of Campeche Bay of Fundy Black Sea Bothnian Sea Caribbean Sea Celtic Sea English Channel Foxe Basin Greenland Sea Gulf of Bothnia Gulf of Finland Gulf of Lion Gulf of Guinea Gulf of Maine Gulf of Mexico Gulf of Saint Lawrence Gulf of Sidra Gulf of Venezuela Hudson Bay Ionian Sea Irish Sea Irminger Sea James Bay Labrador Sea Levantine Sea Libyan Sea Ligurian Sea Marmara Sea Mediterranean Sea Myrtoan Sea North Sea Norwegian Sea Sargasso Sea Sea of Åland Sea of Azov Sea of Crete Sea of the Hebrides Thracian Sea Tyrrhenian Sea Wadden Sea Indian Ocean Andaman Sea Arabian Sea Bali Sea Bay of Bengal Flores Sea Great Australian Bight Gulf of Aden Gulf of Aqaba Gulf of Khambhat Gulf of Kutch Gulf of Oman Gulf of Suez Java Sea Laccadive Sea Mozambique Channel Persian Gulf Red Sea Timor Sea Pacific Ocean Arafura Sea Banda Sea Bering Sea Bismarck Sea Bohai Sea Bohol Sea Camotes Sea Celebes Sea Ceram Sea Chilean Sea Coral Sea East China Sea Gulf of Alaska Gulf of Anadyr Gulf of California Gulf of Carpentaria Gulf of Fonseca Gulf of Panama Gulf of Thailand Gulf of Tonkin Halmahera Sea Koro Sea Mar de Grau Molucca Sea Moro Gulf Philippine Sea Salish Sea Savu Sea Sea of Japan Sea of Okhotsk Seto Inland Sea Shantar Sea Sibuyan Sea Solomon Sea South China Sea Sulu Sea Tasman Sea Visayan Sea Yellow Sea Southern Ocean Amundsen Sea Bellingshausen Sea Cooperation Sea Cosmonauts Sea Davis Sea D'Urville Sea King Haakon VII Sea Lazarev Sea Mawson Sea Riiser - Larsen Sea Ross Sea Scotia Sea Somov Sea Weddell Sea Landlocked seas Aral Sea Caspian Sea Dead Sea Salton Sea Book Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geographical_zone&oldid=836997539 '' Categories : Geographical zones Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from March 2011 All articles needing additional references Talk Contents About Wikipedia 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Question: how many heat zones are there on the earth
Answer: three