The tropics, seated in the equatorial regions of the world, are limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23°26' (23.4°) N latitude and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at 23°26' (23.4°) S latitude. The tropics are also referred to as the tropical zone and the torrid zone (see geographical zone).
The tropics include all the areas on the Earth where the sun reaches a point directly overhead and a point directly underneath at least once during the solar year. In the temperate zones, the sun never reaches the zenith or the nadir and is never directly overhead or directly underneath, always passing south of the zenith in the northern hemisphere, north of the zenith in the southern hemisphere, south of the nadir in the southern hemisphere and north of the nadir in the northern hemisphere.
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