What Are The Horse Latitudes And Where Are They Located How Did They Get Their Name?

The horse latitudes are located at about 30 degrees north and south of the equator. It is common in this region of the subtropics for winds to diverge and either flow toward the poles (known as the prevailing westerlies) or toward the equator (known as the trade winds).

Why are the horse latitudes calm?

horse latitude, either of two subtropical atmospheric high-pressure belts that encircle Earth around latitudes 30°–35° N and 30°–35° S and that generate light winds and clear skies. Because they contain dry subsiding air, they produce arid climates in the areas below them.

Where are horse latitudes located?

The horse latitudes are the latitudes about 30 degrees north and south of the Equator. They are characterized by sunny skies, calm winds, and very little precipitation. They are also known as subtropical ridges, or highs. It is a high-pressure area at the divergence of trade winds and the westerlies.

What are horse latitudes and doldrums?

Both doldrums and horse latitudes are ocean areas characterized by weak or nonexistent airflow for a prolonged period of time. Both areas are also located in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In addition, both places are near the equator.

Do horse latitudes have high pressure?

A horse latitude is an area of high pressure and low winds that exists at about 30 degrees north latitude and 30 degrees south latitude. Early sailors dreaded these parts of the sea because the winds would become unpredictable, with periods of total calm.

Why are they called horse latitudes?

Unable to sail and resupply due to lack of wind, crews often ran out of drinking water. To conserve scarce water, sailors on these ships would sometimes throw the horses they were transporting overboard. Thus, the phrase ‘horse latitudes’ was born.

Are horse latitudes warm and dry?

The belts of latitude over the oceans at approximately 30°–35°N and S where winds are predominantly calm or very light and weather is hot and dry.

Where are the trade winds located?

The trade winds can be found about 30 degrees north and south of the equator. Right at the equator there is almost no wind at all—an area sometimes called the doldrums.

How latitudes are marked?

Latitude lines are labeled from the north pole (90 degrees north) to the equator (0 degrees) and down to the south pole (90 degrees south).

How did trade winds get their name?

Named from Old English Trade = path, because of their regular course, these winds are the tropical easterlies, northeast Trades in the Northern Hemisphere and southeast Trades in the Southern Hemisphere.

What causes doldrums and horse latitudes?

As the air rises, it cools, causing persistent bands of showers and storms around the Earth’s midsection. The rising air mass finally subsides in what is known as the horse latitudes, where the air moves downward toward Earth’s surface.

Are deserts located in horse latitudes?

Deserts form in the horse latitudes
In the Northern Hemisphere deserts that lie in this subtropical high included the Sahara Desert in Africa and the southwestern deserts of the United States and Mexico. The Atacama Desert, the Kalahari Desert and the Australian Desert are all located in the southern Horse Latitudes.

Why would sailers avoid horse latitudes and doldrums?

As in the doldrums, sailing ships becalmed in these waters would see their voyage time greatly extended. Folklore states that sailors stuck in the horse latitudes would throw their cargo of dead or dying animals overboard to preserve precious water.

Are high latitudes dry?

In the high pressure areas around the 30*latitudes, the air is generally dry and warm. In the higher latitudes the air generally is more humid with temperatures decreasing as latitude increases.

How does pressure change at different latitudes?

Pressure decreases faster in the cold-air column and slower in the warm-air column. Pressure drops more rapidly with height at high latitudes and lowers the height of the pressure surface.

Which latitudes are low pressure areas?

Mid-latitude Lows are the low pressure areas we most frequently experience between latitudes of 30° to 60° (both north and south, and they are very different from tropical lows. These are the traditional low pressure areas that move west to east and have attached warm and cold fronts.

Why are there only 180 latitudes?

As we move North-South, we change through 180 degrees. In other words, going from the North Pole to the South Pole is 180 degrees. These spherical coordinates (latitude and longitude) indicate locations on a 3-dimensional representation of the Earth.

What are the 4 types of latitudes?

There are 5 types of latitudes- the Arctic Circle, the Antarctic Circle, and the Equator, the Tropic of Cancer, and the Tropic of Capricorn.

What are the 3 types of latitudes?

There are three different types of latitude: geocentric, astronomical and geographic. The geocentric latitude is most referenced in discussions about latitude. Expressed in degrees and minutes, and sometimes also in seconds, the geocentric latitude refers to the angle subtended by an angle at the Earth’s center.

Can horses race in hot weather?

The exception to this is turf courses – warm weather makes it difficult for horses since there’s less ‘give’ under their hooves. Due to their large body size, high proportion of active muscle, and reliance upon evaporation to cool down through sweating, horses are more vulnerable to hot weather.

Should I stable my horse in hot weather?

All horses need to be able to get out of the direct sun and into some shade. In fact, it might be sensible to keep horses stabled through the hottest parts of the day providing their stable remains cool. Inadequately ventilated stables can become uncomfortably hot and stuffy.