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22-495: Foul Bay is located slightly north of the Tropic of Cancer . The town which lies at the most inland section of the bay is Berenice ( Arabic : برنيس , Barnīs ). The northern part of Foul Bay is a peninsula called Ras Banas . The ancient ruins of Berenice Troglodytica are located on the bay. Foul Bay has many islands that were formed by an upthrust of rock near the mantle during the convergence of two continental plates under

44-519: A millennium . This wobble means that the Tropic of Cancer is currently drifting southward at a rate of almost half an arcsecond (0.468″) of latitude, or 15 m (49 ft), per year. The circle's position was at exactly 23° 27′N in 1917 and will be at 23° 26'N in 2045. The distance between the Antarctic Circle and the Tropic of Cancer is essentially constant as they move in tandem. This

66-530: A series of apparent sunsets and sunrises while in reality the sun remains below the horizon. There is no permanent human population south of the Antarctic Circle, but there are several research stations in Antarctica operated by various nations that are inhabited by teams of scientists who rotate on a seasonal basis. In previous centuries some semi-permanent whaling stations were established on

88-584: Is above the horizon for 24 continuous hours at least once per year (and therefore visible at midnight) and the centre of the Sun (ignoring refraction) is below the horizon for 24 continuous hours at least once per year (and therefore not visible at noon); this is also true within the equivalent polar circle in the Northern Hemisphere , the Arctic Circle . The position of the Antarctic Circle

110-530: Is based on an assumption of a constant equator, but the precise location of the equator is not truly fixed. See: equator , axial tilt and circles of latitude for additional details. Download coordinates as: 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

132-561: Is not fixed and currently runs 66°33′50.2″ south of the Equator . This figure may be slightly inaccurate because it does not allow for the effects of astronomical nutation , which can be up to 10″. Its latitude depends on the Earth's axial tilt , which fluctuates within a margin of more than 2° over a 41,000-year period, due to tidal forces resulting from the orbit of the Moon . Consequently,

154-525: The Equator . Its Southern Hemisphere counterpart, marking the most southerly position at which the Sun can be seen directly overhead, is the Tropic of Capricorn . These tropics are two of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of Earth, the others being the Arctic and Antarctic circles and the Equator . The positions of these two circles of latitude (relative to the Equator) are dictated by

176-717: The Northern Tropic , is the Earth 's northernmost circle of latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead . This occurs on the June solstice , when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun to its maximum extent. It also reaches 90 degrees below the horizon at solar midnight on the December Solstice . Using a continuously updated formula, the circle is currently 23°26′09.8″ (or 23.43605°) north of

198-510: The Antarctic Circle is currently drifting southwards at a speed of about 14.5 m (48 ft) per year. The Antarctic Circle is the northernmost latitude in the Southern Hemisphere at which the centre of the sun can remain continuously above the horizon for twenty-four hours; as a result, at least once each year at any location within the Antarctic Circle the centre of the sun is visible at local midnight , and at least once

220-542: The Antarctic Circle; similarly, on the day of the southern winter solstice , part of the sun may be seen up to about 50′ south of the Antarctic Circle. That is true at sea level; those limits increase with elevation above sea level, although in mountainous regions there is often no direct view of the true horizon. Mirages on the Antarctic continent tend to be even more spectacular than in Arctic regions, creating, for example,

242-578: The Red Sea. Some of the most noteworthy are: Foul Bay is popular among tourists for its diving opportunities. Strong and dangerous currents limit only experienced divers to some places where they can observe corals . This geography of Egypt article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Tropic of Cancer 23°26′12.5″N 0°0′0″W  /  23.436806°N -0.00000°E  / 23.436806; -0.00000  ( Prime Meridian ) The Tropic of Cancer , also known as

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264-463: 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 , while to the east, the climate is torrid monsoonal with a short wet season from June to September, and very little rainfall for

286-525: The centre of the sun is below the horizon at local noon. Directly on the Antarctic Circle these events occur, in principle, exactly once per year: at the December and June solstices , respectively. However, because of atmospheric refraction and mirages , and because the sun appears as a disk and not a point, part of the midnight sun may be seen on the night of the southern summer solstice up to about 50 minutes (′) (90 km (56 mi)) north of

308-484: The continent, and some whalers would live there for a year or more. At least eleven children have been born in Antarctica, albeit in stations north of the Antarctic Circle. Download coordinates as: The circumference of the Antarctic Circle is roughly 16,000 kilometres (9,900 mi). The area south of the Circle is about 20,000,000 km (7,700,000 sq mi) and covers roughly 4% of Earth's surface. Most of

330-537: The distance is set to a rounded value of at least 36,770 kilometres (22,850 mi). Antarctic Circle The Antarctic Circle is the most southerly of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of Earth . The region south of this circle is known as the Antarctic , and the zone immediately to the north is called the Southern Temperate Zone . South of the Antarctic Circle, the Sun

352-448: The fact that the Sun appears to "turn back" at the solstices. The Tropic of Cancer's position is not fixed, but constantly changes because of a slight wobble in the Earth's longitudinal alignment relative to the ecliptic , the plane in which the Earth orbits around the Sun. Earth's axial tilt varies over a 41,000-year period from about 22.1 to 24.5 degrees, and as of 2000 is about 23.4 degrees, which will continue to remain valid for about

374-483: The following 17 countries (including two disputed territories) and 8 water bodies, starting at the prime meridian and heading eastward: The climate at the Tropic of Cancer is generally hot and dry, except for cooler highland regions in China, marine environments such as Hawaii, and easterly coastal areas, where orographic rainfall can be very heavy, in some places reaching 4 metres (160 in) annually. Most regions on

396-705: The rest of the year. The highest mountain on or adjacent to the Tropic of Cancer is Yu Shan in Taiwan . It had glaciers descending as low as 2,800 metres (9,190 ft) during the Last Glacial Maximum . At present glaciers still exist around the Tropic. The nearest currently surviving are the Minyong and Baishui in the Himalayas to the north and on Iztaccíhuatl in Mexico to the south. According to

418-503: 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. The length of the Tropic of Cancer is 36,788 km (22,859 mi): For an ordinary circumnavigation the rules are somewhat relaxed and

440-402: The tilt of Earth's axis of rotation relative to the plane of its orbit , and since the tilt changes, the location of these two circles also changes. In geopolitics , it is known for being the southern limitation on the mutual defence obligation of NATO , as member states of NATO are not obligated to come to the defence of territory south of the Tropic of Cancer. When this line of latitude

462-401: The two, centered on the Equator, is the tropics . In the year 2000, more than half of the world's population lived north of the Tropic of Cancer. On the Tropic of Cancer there are approximately 13 hours, 35 minutes of daylight during the summer solstice. During the winter solstice, there are 10 hours, 41 minutes of daylight. Using 23°26'N for the Tropic of Cancer, the tropic passes through

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484-530: Was named in the last centuries BCE , the Sun was in the constellation Cancer ( Latin : Crab ) at the June solstice (90° ecliptic longitude ). Due to the precession of the equinoxes , this is no longer the case; today the Sun is in constellation Taurus at the June solstice. The word "tropic" itself comes from the Greek "trope (τροπή)", meaning turn (change of direction or circumstance), inclination, referring to

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