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.
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 the following countries and territories 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 (160in) annually. 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, while 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 Yu Shan in Taiwan. It had glaciers descending as low as 2,800 metres (9,190ft) 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.
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 of Cancer is 36,788km (22,859mi):
where φ is the latitude of the Tropic of Cancer
For an ordinary circumnavigation the rules are somewhat relaxed and the distance is set to a rounded value of at least 36,770 kilometres (22,850mi).
Gallery
Road sign south of Dakhla, marking the Tropic of Cancer. The sign was placed by Budapest-Bamako rally participants; thus, the inscription is in English and Hungarian.
Road Sign near Mehsana City in Gujarat State, India Mehsana, Gujarat
Sign marking the Tropic of Cancer a few kilometres from Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, India
Sign marking the Tropic of Cancer in Madhya Pradesh, India
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