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A diagram showing the relative positions of the Horse latitudes

Horse latitudes or Subtropical High are subtropical latitudes between 30 and 35 degrees both north and south. This region, under a ridge of high pressure called the Subtropical ridge, is an area which receives little precipitation and has variable winds mixed with calm. It may owe its name to the fact that the confused sea, muggy heat, and rolling and pitching of waves (variably stilled and aerated by winds) often slowed colonial ships for days to weeks due to lack of propulsion. In order to reduce the weight of the ship and to conserve water, the crew would throw horses overboard, subsequently increasing the speed of the ship in the low winds.^[1] Image File history File links Emblem-contradict. ... Image File history File links Atmospheric_circulation. ... Image File history File links Atmospheric_circulation. ... This article is about the geographical term. ... This article describes the unit of angle. ... The subtropical ridge is a large belt of high pressure situated around 30ºN in the Northern Hemisphere and 30ºS in the Southern Hemisphere. ...

Alternately, the ancient Persian navigator and general Sataspes, whose name was derived from his command of a Persian horse cavalry unit (sat was the unit size and asp(es) was the Persian word for horse), has been credited by some historians as the progenitor of the term. Sataspes was the leading explorer and navigator of this day, circumnavigating Africa^{[citation needed]} as well as mapping out the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Verde. Mariners navigating ancient waters may have referred to the mid-latitudes as those mapped by Sataspes, whose name was translated as "horse". This article is about the Persian people, an ethnic group found mainly in Iran. ... Sataspes was a commander of 100 cavalry, whose name is derived from Sat (=100 sad) and Asp (= Horse, Asb). ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... The Cape of Good Hope; looking towards the west, from the coastal cliffs above Cape Point. ...

The consistently warm, dry conditions of the horse latitudes also contribute to the existence of temperate deserts, such as the Sahara Desert in Africa, the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, and parts of the Middle East in the Northern Hemisphere, and the Atacama Desert, the Kalahari Desert, and the Australian Desert in the Southern Hemisphere. The Sahara is the worlds second largest desert (second to Antarctica), over 9,000,000 km² (3,500,000 mi²), located in northern Africa and is 2. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert is a virtually rainless plateau in South America, extending 966 km (600 mi) between t It is created by the rain shadow of the Andes east of the desert. ... “Kalahari” redirects here. ... Location of deserts in Australia Deserts of Australia cover a large portion of the land in Australia. ...

References

• About.com, Trade Winds, Horse Latitudes, and the Doldrums, accessed 5 Jan 2007.
• The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Columbia University Press., 2003.

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See also

• Doldrums
• Intertropical convergence zone
• Circle of latitude
• Subtropical ridge