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noun horse latitude n. (Meteorology) The latitudes from 30° to 35 ° north or south of the equator. They are subtropical latitudes having atmospheric high-pressure belts that encircle the Earth, where winds are light and weather is usually clear, hot and dry. According to legend, ships traveling to the New World often stagnated in this region and had to throw dead horses overboard to conserve water for the crew, or eat them to survive, hence the name horse latitudes. A horse latitude is created because warm, wet air near the equator rises, cools, and drops its moisture in heavy rains (creating tropical rainforest areas near the equator). By the time the air reaches the high altitudes, it is cold and dry and can not rise further, so it spreads out and moves toward the poles and near the 30° north and 30° south, it begins to sink toward the earth's surface., preventing moisture from reaching the area from elsewhere. The regions mark the normal locations of the global subtropical high pressure systems such as the Bermuda High, moving a few degrees north or south of their position as the sun moves in the sky with the seasons. Many of the worlds deserts are found at these latitudes.
Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48
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