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Rainforests occur in both temperate and tropical regions.
Most of the world's rainforests fall either side of the Equator between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer. Forests close to the Equator which receive year round drenchings are known as evergreen equatorial rainforests. Tropical rainforests were first defined in the German language. The further a rainforest is from the equator the greater are the changes in temperature and rainfall. Seasonal changes give rise to semi-deciduous rainforests in which most, and sometimes all of the trees lose their leaves during a dry season.