Important latitudes and heat zones of the Earth

Important parallels of latitude

 Beside, The North Pole (90° N) and The South Pole (90° S) there are five important parallels of latitudes on Globe.

1. The Equator (0°)
2. The Tropic of Cancer (23 1/2° N)
3. The Tropic of Capricorn (23 1/2° S)
4. The Arctic Circle (66 1/2° N)
5. the Antarctic Circle (66 1/2° S)

Heat zone of the  Earth
There are three heat zone present on the earth surface.
1. Torrid Zone
2. Temperate Zone and
3. Frigid Zone

1. Torrid Zone - Torrid means hot.  This area is between Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn. Therefore this area receives maximum heat of Sun and called the Torrid Zone. The mid-day sun is exactly overhead at least once a year on all latitudes.

2.  Temperate Zones – Temperate means moderate. There are two Temperate Zone present on the Earth surface.
(i) Northern hemisphere’s Temperate Zone - This area is present between Tropic of Cancer (23 1/2° N) and Arctic Circle (66 1/2° N).
(ii) Southern hemisphere’s Temperate Zone - This area is present between Tropic of Capricorn (23 1/2° S) and Antarctic Circle (66 1/2° S).
The mid-day Sun never shines overhead on any latitude beyond the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn. The angle of the Sun's rays goes on decreasing towards the Pole.
3. Frigid Zone - Frigid means very cold.  There are two Frigid Zone on Earth surface.

(i) Northern hemisphere’s Frigid Zone - This area is lying between the Arctic Circle (66 1/2° N) and North Pole (90° N).

(ii) Southern hemisphere’s Frigid Zone - This area is lying between the Antarctic Circle (66 1/2° S) and South Pole (90° S). These heat zones are very cold because here the sun does not rise much above the Horizon. Therefore, its rays are always slanting and provide less heat.

Name of Indian states lying on Tropic of Cancer

The Tropic of Cancer passes through eight states in India - 

1. Gujarat

2. Rajasthan

3. Madhya Pradesh

4. Chhattisgarh

5. Jharkhand

6. West Bengal

7. Tripura

8. Mizoram