Tropic of Capricorn

Scientific  

1. The parallel of latitude approximately 23°27′ south. It forms the boundary between the Torrid and South Temperate zones.

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Tropic of Capricorn Cultural  

1. Imaginary line that circles the Earth about one-quarter of the way from the equator to the South Pole. The sun is directly overhead at the December solstice.

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Example Sentences

The winter solstice is the moment the Sun appears to stand still, directly above the Tropic of Capricorn, the most southerly latitude it reaches annually.

From BBC • Dec. 1, 2025

During the Northern Hemisphere’s winter solstice, the sun appears directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, the Tropic of Cancer’s southern mirror image.

From National Geographic • Dec. 19, 2023

Winter will begin when it’s over the Tropic of Capricorn, 1,500 miles to the south.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 21, 2021

The geographic facts on the ground are thus: Located near the Tropic of Capricorn, the Cook Islands are on about the same latitude as Australia’s Northern Territory and Chile’s Antofagasta region.

From Washington Post • Jan. 2, 2020

This is the latitude of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, just south of the Tropic of Capricorn.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong