Tropic of Cancer - wikipedia Tropic of Cancer This article is about the circle of latitude. For other uses, see Tropic of Cancer ( disambiguation ). Coordinates : 23 ° 26 ′ 14 '' N 0 ° 0 ′ 0 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 23.43722 ° N - 0.00000 ° E ﻿ / 23.43722 ; - 0.00000 ﻿ ( Prime Meridian ) World map showing the Tropic of Cancer Carretera 83 ( Vía Corta ) Zaragoza - Victoria, km 27 + 800. Of all crossings of the Tropic of Cancer with Mexican federal highways, this is the only place where the latitude is marked with precision and where the annual drift between the years 2005 and 2010 can be appreciated. The Tropic of Cancer, also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is currently 23 ° 26 ′ 13.0 '' ( or 23.43695 ° ) north of the Equator. It is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun to its maximum extent. Its Southern Hemisphere counterpart, marking the most southerly position at which the Sun can be directly overhead, is the Tropic of Capricorn. These tropics are two of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of Earth ; which also includes the Arctic and Antarctic Circles and the Equator. The positions of these two circles of latitude ( relative to the Equator ) are dictated by the tilt of Earth 's axis of rotation relative to the plane of its orbit. Contents 1 Name 2 Geography 3 Climate 4 Circumnavigation 5 Gallery 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Name When this line of latitude was named some 2,000 years ago, the Sun was in the constellation Cancer ( Latin for crab ) at the June solstice, the time each year that the Sun reaches its zenith at this latitude. Due to the precession of the equinoxes, this is no longer the case ; today the Sun is in Taurus at the June solstice. The word `` tropic '' itself comes from the Greek `` trope ( τροπή ) '', meaning turn ( change of direction, or circumstances ), inclination, referring to the fact that the Sun appears to `` turn back '' at the solstices. Geography Map all coordinates using OSM Map all coordinates using Google Export all coordinates as KML Export all coordinates as GPX Map all microformatted coordinates Place data as RDF The Tropic of Cancer 's position is not fixed, but varies in a complicated manner over time. Currently, it gradually drifts south almost half an arcsecond ( 0.468 '' ) of latitude, or 15 metres, per year ( it was at exactly 23 ° 27 ′ in 1917 and will be at 23 ° 26 ' in 2045 ). See axial tilt and circles of latitude for further information. North of the tropic are the subtropics and the North Temperate Zone. The equivalent line of latitude south of the Equator is called the Tropic of Capricorn, and the region between the two, centered on the Equator, is the tropics. Starting at the prime meridian and heading eastward, the Tropic of Cancer passes through 16 countries : Co-ordinates Country, territory or sea Notes 23 ° 26 ′ N 0 ° 0 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 0.000 ° E ﻿ / 23.433 ; 0.000 ﻿ ( Prime Meridian ) Algeria 23 ° 26 ′ N 11 ° 51 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 11.850 ° E ﻿ / 23.433 ; 11.850 ﻿ ( Niger ) Niger 23 ° 26 ′ N 12 ° 17 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 12.283 ° E ﻿ / 23.433 ; 12.283 ﻿ ( Libya ) Libya The Tropic touches on the northernmost point of Chad at 23 ° 26 ′ N 15 ° 59 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 15.983 ° E ﻿ / 23.433 ; 15.983 ﻿ ( Northernmost point of Chad ) 23 ° 26 ′ N 25 ° 0 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 25.000 ° E ﻿ / 23.433 ; 25.000 ﻿ ( Egypt ) Egypt The Tropic passes through Lake Nasser 23 ° 26 ′ N 35 ° 30 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 35.500 ° E ﻿ / 23.433 ; 35.500 ﻿ ( Red Sea ) Red Sea 23 ° 26 ′ N 38 ° 38 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 38.633 ° E ﻿ / 23.433 ; 38.633 ﻿ ( Saudi Arabia ) Saudi Arabia 23 ° 26 ′ N 52 ° 10 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 52.167 ° E ﻿ / 23.433 ; 52.167 ﻿ ( United Arab Emirates ) United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi emirate only 23 ° 26 ′ N 55 ° 24 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 55.400 ° E ﻿ / 23.433 ; 55.400 ﻿ ( Oman ) Oman 23 ° 26 ′ N 58 ° 46 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 58.767 ° E ﻿ / 23.433 ; 58.767 ﻿ ( Indian Ocean ) Indian Ocean Arabian Sea 23 ° 26 ′ N 68 ° 23 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 68.383 ° E ﻿ / 23.433 ; 68.383 ﻿ ( India ) India States of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal 23 ° 26 ′ N 88 ° 47 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 88.783 ° E ﻿ / 23.433 ; 88.783 ﻿ ( Bangladesh ) Bangladesh Khulna, Dhaka, and Chittagong Divisions 23 ° 26 ′ N 91 ° 14 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 91.233 ° E ﻿ / 23.433 ; 91.233 ﻿ ( India ) India State of Tripura 23 ° 26 ′ N 91 ° 56 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 91.933 ° E ﻿ / 23.433 ; 91.933 ﻿ ( Bangladesh ) Bangladesh Chittagong Division 23 ° 26 ′ N 92 ° 19 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 92.317 ° E ﻿ / 23.433 ; 92.317 ﻿ ( India ) India State of Mizoram 23 ° 26 ′ N 93 ° 23 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 93.383 ° E ﻿ / 23.433 ; 93.383 ﻿ ( Myanmar ) Myanmar Chin State, Sagaing Division, Mandalay Division, Shan State 23 ° 26 ′ N 98 ° 54 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 98.900 ° E ﻿ / 23.433 ; 98.900 ﻿ ( China ) China Provinces of Yunnan ( passing about 7 km north of the border with Vietnam ), Guangxi, and Guangdong 23 ° 26 ′ N 117 ° 8 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 117.133 ° E ﻿ / 23.433 ; 117.133 ﻿ ( Taiwan Strait ) Taiwan Strait 23 ° 26 ′ N 120 ° 8 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 120.133 ° E ﻿ / 23.433 ; 120.133 ﻿ ( Taiwan ) Taiwan Chiayi County, Hualien County 23 ° 26 ′ N 121 ° 29 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 121.483 ° E ﻿ / 23.433 ; 121.483 ﻿ ( Philippine Sea ) Philippine Sea 23 ° 26 ′ N 142 ° 00 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 142.000 ° E ﻿ / 23.433 ; 142.000 ﻿ ( Pacific Ocean ) Pacific Ocean Passing just south of Necker Island, Hawaii, United States 23 ° 26 ′ N 110 ° 15 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 110.250 ° W ﻿ / 23.433 ; - 110.250 ﻿ ( Mexico ) Mexico State of Baja California Sur 23 ° 26 ′ N 109 ° 24 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 109.400 ° W ﻿ / 23.433 ; - 109.400 ﻿ ( Gulf of California ) Gulf of California 23 ° 26 ′ N 106 ° 35 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 106.583 ° W ﻿ / 23.433 ; - 106.583 ﻿ ( Mexico ) Mexico States of Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas 23 ° 26 ′ N 97 ° 45 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 97.750 ° W ﻿ / 23.433 ; - 97.750 ﻿ ( Gulf of Mexico ) Gulf of Mexico 23 ° 26 ′ N 83 ° 0 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 83.000 ° W ﻿ / 23.433 ; - 83.000 ﻿ ( Atlantic Ocean ) Atlantic Ocean Passing through the Straits of Florida and the Nicholas Channel Passing just south of the Anguilla Cays ( Bahamas ) Passing through the Santaren Channel and into the open ocean 23 ° 26 ′ N 76 ° 0 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 76.000 ° W ﻿ / 23.433 ; - 76.000 ﻿ ( Bahamas ) Bahamas Exuma Islands and Long Island 23 ° 26 ′ N 75 ° 10 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 75.167 ° W ﻿ / 23.433 ; - 75.167 ﻿ ( Atlantic Ocean ) Atlantic Ocean 23 ° 26 ′ N 15 ° 57 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 15.950 ° W ﻿ / 23.433 ; - 15.950 ﻿ ( Western Sahara ) Western Sahara Claimed by Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic 23 ° 26 ′ N 12 ° 0 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 12.000 ° W ﻿ / 23.433 ; - 12.000 ﻿ ( Mauritania ) Mauritania 23 ° 26 ′ N 6 ° 23 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 6.383 ° W ﻿ / 23.433 ; - 6.383 ﻿ ( Mali ) Mali 23 ° 26 ′ N 2 ° 23 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 23.433 ° N 2.383 ° W ﻿ / 23.433 ; - 2.383 ﻿ ( Algeria ) Algeria Climate Relationship between Earth 's axial tilt ( ε ) to the tropical and polar circles Excluding cooler highland regions in China, the climate at the Tropic of Cancer is generally hot and dry except for easterly coastal areas where orographic rainfall can be very heavy, in some places reaching 4 metres ( 160 in ). Most regions on the Tropic of Cancer experience two distinct seasons : an extremely hot summer with temperatures often reaching 45 ° C ( 113 ° F ) and a warm winter with maxima around 22 ° C ( 72 ° F ). Much land on or near the Tropic of Cancer is part of the Sahara Desert, whilst to the east the climate is torrid monsoonal with a short wet season from June to September and very little rainfall for the rest of the year. The highest mountain on or adjacent to the Tropic of Cancer is Yushan in Taiwan ; though it had glaciers descending as low as 2,800 metres ( 9,190 ft ) during the Last Glacial Maximum, none survive and at present no glaciers exist within 470 kilometres ( 290 mi ) of the Tropic of Cancer ; the nearest currently surviving are the Minyong and Baishui in the Himalayas to the north and on Iztaccíhuatl to the south. Circumnavigation According to the rules of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, for a flight to compete for a round - the - world speed record, it must cover a distance no less than the length of the Tropic of Cancer, cross all meridians, and end on the same airfield where it started. Length of the Tropic on 11 December 2015, at 23 ° 26 ′ 14 '' N is 36,788 kilometres ( 22,859 mi ). For an ordinary circumnavigation the rules are somewhat relaxed and the distance is set to a rounded value of at least 36,770 kilometres ( 22,850 mi ). Gallery Road sign south of Dakhla, Western Sahara marking the Tropic of Cancer. The sign was placed by Budapest - Bamako rally participants ; thus, the inscription is in English and Hungarian. Sign marking the Tropic of Cancer a few miles from Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, India Sign marking the Tropic of Cancer in Madhya Pradesh, India Sign marking the Tropic of Cancer on National Highway 34 in Nadia District, West Bengal, India Tropic of Cancer mark in Ruisui Township, Hualien County, Taiwan See also 23rd parallel north 24th parallel north Tropic of Capricorn Antarctic Circle Arctic Circle Axial tilt Equator Milankovitch cycles Ducking and shaving References Jump up ^ `` PHP Science Labs ''. Retrieved 2014 - 01 - 01. Jump up ^ Montana State University : Milankovitch Cycles & Glaciation Archived August 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ RhumbSolve online rhumb line calculator. External links Look up tropic of cancer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Article on the Tropic of Cancer in Oman Temporal Epoch Calculations Useful constants See : Obliquity of the ecliptic Circles of latitude / meridians Equator Tropic of Cancer Tropic of Capricorn Arctic Circle Antarctic Circle Equator Tropic of Cancer Tropic of Capricorn Arctic Circle Antarctic Circle Equator Tropic of Cancer Tropic of Capricorn Arctic Circle Antarctic Circle W 0 ° E 30 ° 60 ° 90 ° 120 ° 150 ° 180 ° 30 ° 60 ° 90 ° 120 ° 150 ° 180 ° 5 ° 15 ° 25 ° 35 ° 45 ° 55 ° 65 ° 75 ° 85 ° 95 ° 105 ° 115 ° 125 ° 135 ° 145 ° 155 ° 165 ° 175 ° 5 ° 15 ° 25 ° 35 ° 45 ° 55 ° 65 ° 75 ° 85 ° 95 ° 105 ° 115 ° 125 ° 135 ° 145 ° 155 ° 165 ° 175 ° 10 ° 20 ° 40 ° 50 ° 70 ° 80 ° 100 ° 110 ° 130 ° 140 ° 160 ° 170 ° 10 ° 20 ° 40 ° 50 ° 70 ° 80 ° 100 ° 110 ° 130 ° 140 ° 160 ° 170 ° 0 ° 10 ° 20 ° 30 ° 40 ° 50 ° 60 ° 70 ° 80 ° 90 ° 10 ° 20 ° 30 ° 40 ° 50 ° 60 ° 70 ° 80 ° 90 ° 5 ° N 15 ° 25 ° 35 ° 45 ° 55 ° 65 ° 75 ° 85 ° 5 ° S 15 ° 25 ° 35 ° 45 ° 55 ° 65 ° 75 ° 85 ° 45x90 45x90 45x90 45x90 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tropic_of_Cancer&oldid=814626088 '' Categories : Lines of latitude Tropics Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Coordinates on Wikidata Lists of coordinates Geographic coordinate lists Articles with Geo Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans অসমীয়া Asturianu বাংলা Беларуская भोजपुरी Български བོད ་ ཡིག Brezhoneg Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Emiliàn e rumagnòl Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 हिन्दी Hrvatski Ido Ilokano Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ಕನ್ನಡ ქართული Kurdî Latina Latviešu Lietuvių Magyar Македонски മലയാളം मराठी Bahasa Melayu Монгол မြန်မာဘာသာ Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Occitan ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Polski Português Română Русский Scots සිංහල Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog தமிழ் తెలుగు ไทย Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt Walon Winaray 吴语 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 9 December 2017, at 23 : 30. 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Question: what and where is the tropic of cancer
Answer: currently 23°26′13.0″ (or 23.43695°) north of the Equator