State the extent of the Torrid Zone
Answers
The torrid zone refers to the area of the earth near the equator. As its name suggests, the torrid zone is generally warm. It has a wet and dry season but does not experience the four seasons familiar to residents of the temperate zones further from the equator. The warmth of the torrid zone influences its weather, ecosystems and geographic features.
The term torrid zone was first used around 320 B.C.E. by the Greek scientist Aristotle to define the area of the earth closest to the equator. Aristotle presumed this area was too hot for human habitation since the sun's rays targeted this region from directly above. He also proposed a temperate zone with a livable climate and a frigid zone near the Arctic Circle.
Another Greek philosopher named Parmenides also divided these zones into five separate regions with the torrid zone as the base from 23 degrees north and south latitude. A north and south temperate zone were added as were a north and south frigid zone to create a five-zone climate system that remained in use until the standardized Koppen climate mapping system was devised and instituted in the 19th and 20th centuries.