Who has not dreamed of visiting the sea, the jungle or sunbathing on beautiful sandy beaches? Many people want this. What is so special about these places? The tropics are, at first glance, a paradise for photographers and vacationers. To some extent, everything is true, but it is worth looking a little further and it becomes clear that these places are a whole world with its own laws and inhabitants.
Geographically speaking, the tropics are a climate zone that stretches across the planet along the equator. More than forty countries are known whose territory it crosses. This is practically the middle of the planet, two belts, occupying 25 percent of the world's area.
Climate
According to the generally accepted classification, the tropics are the territory located between the subequatorial and subtropical belts. They are divided into northern and southern zones based on location. Simply put, on which hemisphere it is located, the name of that one takes over. The climate in the tropical zone is diverse, it all depends on the territories. Can be found in both wet forests and deserts.
The wind in these areas is predominantly easterly - all due to pressure drops. It's called the trade wind. Do not confuse the equator and the tropics, these are different climatic zones.
The air temperature here varies depending on the area and its location. For example, in the coastal areas of the tropical zone, the air in summer heats up to about 27 degrees Celsius, in winter the thermometer does not fall below 10. But this is only where the sea is nearby. If you track temperature fluctuations within the continents, you can see that the air temperature can fluctuate from +14 °C to +40 °C. For example, in the northern part of Africa and in California, an increase up to +55 ° С was registered, as well as in Australia. Humidity in the tropics also varies depending on the position - the closer to the sea, the more precipitation falls.
Plants
Rainforests are famous for their density and diversity, they have a huge biomass. Most of the plant life in wet places has a five-level organization. In the forests of tropical zones, there are a lot of parasitic plants, lianas, lichens, ferns and orchids. Interestingly, most of the fallen leaves decompose very quickly due to very active microorganisms.
Marshes
This is another attraction. Tropical swamps occupy a significant area of the entire belt. This is because the soil is poor in water-soluble elements, and all nutrients are washed out by frequentprecipitation or immediately after the appearance are absorbed by plants. Photos of the tropics, their beauty and exoticism, can be seen in our article.
Fauna
Among the animals that live in this climatic zone, there are a lot of predators, the leading position among which is occupied by the cat family. The most famous representatives are the jaguar, leopard and ocelot. In addition, the tropics are famous for their inhabitants, terrible for most people - spiders, centipedes and scorpions.
And the variety of amphibious creatures will amaze any person and make even a simple frog afraid. A distinctive feature of the inhabitants of the rainforests of the tropical zone can be considered a bright color. It is a kind of signal to predators that the creature is poisonous. Some species use this as a cover.
The rainforest is rich in a variety of life forms ranging from bacteria to mammals. For example, in the Amazon there are more than 1,800 species of butterflies alone. Lizards, salamanders and snakes - all these amphibians simply adore the climate of the rainforest. Not surprisingly, these areas account for about 80 percent of all animal species on the planet. And there is nothing to say about the giant population of monkeys, everyone knows about it.
Deserts
The local fauna also has notable features. These regions are characterized by swift-footed inhabitants, the color of which varies from brown to sandy yellow, sometimes gray individuals are also found. Unlike rainforests, there are not many varieties in the desert.big animals. Most often you can find arthropods, lizards or small rodents, such as jerboas or gerbils. This is due to the fact that a large animal will not be able to feed itself here, water and food are in short supply.
Tropics is a multifaceted territory, each of the regions is interesting in its own way. Somewhere the most popular attraction is culture, somewhere - fauna. Regularly, large teams of researchers from scientific organizations around the world go on protracted expeditions to study local plants and animals.
The equator, the tropics, the polar circles are parallels that are important from the point of view of understanding the concept of climatic zones. These are the most explored places on the planet. In the tropical zone there are many resorts, tourist centers and simply wonderful places to relax. But there are also territories that no man has set foot on, sparsely visited and sparsely populated.
