Tropics

(trop'iks.) [From Gr. tropikos, belonging to a turning round that line at which the sun turns back.] (Geog.) A zone of the earth 23½ degrees, or abt. 1,600 m., on each side of the equator, over some parts of which the sun pa es directly vertical two days in the year. It is the hottest, wettest, and most fertile part of the earth; but is le favorable to human life than the temperate zones. (Ast.) Parallels of declination, drawn through the solstitial points. There are two T.: the T. of Cancer, on the N. of the equator; and the T. of Capricorn, on the S. side; each is 231/20 from the equator. [s. 909]