Horse latitudes: Difference between revisions
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==Etymology== |
==Etymology== |
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A likely and documented explanation is that the term is derived from the "dead [[horse]]" ritual of |
A likely and documented explanation is that the term is derived from the "dead [[horse]]" ritual of semen (see [[Beating a dead horse]]). In this practice, the seaman paraded a straw-stuffed effigy of a horse around the deck before throwing it overboard. Seamen were paid partly in advance before a long voyage, and they frequently spent their pay all at once, resulting in a period of time without income. If they got advances from the ship's paymaster, they would incur debt. This period was called the "dead horse" time, and it usually lasted a month or two. The seaman's ceremony was to celebrate having worked off the "dead horse" debt. As west-bound shipping from [[Europe]] usually reached the subtropics at about the time the "dead horse" was worked off, the latitude became associated with the ceremony.<ref>Kemp, Peter. ''The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea'', London, Oxford University Press, 1976. pp. 233, 399</ref> |
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One theory, of sufficient popularity to serve as an example of [[folk etymology]], is that the term horse latitudes originates from when the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] transported horses by ship to their colonies in the West Indies and Americas. Ships often became becalmed in mid-ocean in this latitude, thus severely prolonging the voyage; the resulting water shortages made it impossible for the crew to keep the horses alive, and they would throw the dead or dying animals overboard.<ref>''The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia'', Sixth Edition. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003</ref> |
One theory, of sufficient popularity to serve as an example of [[folk etymology]], is that the term horse latitudes originates from when the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] transported horses by ship to their colonies in the West Indies and Americas. Ships often became becalmed in mid-ocean in this latitude, thus severely prolonging the voyage; the resulting water shortages made it impossible for the crew to keep the horses alive, and they would throw the dead or dying animals overboard.<ref>''The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia'', Sixth Edition. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003</ref> |
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Revision as of 19:23, 14 January 2014
Horse latitudes or subtropical highs are subtropical latitudes between 30 and 35 degrees both north and south. This region, under a ridge of high pressure called the subtropical high, is an area which receives little precipitation and has variable winds mixed with calm. The horse latitudes are associated with the subtropical anticyclone and the large-scale descent of air from high-altitude currents moving toward the poles. After reaching the earth's surface, this air spreads toward the equator as part of the prevailing trade winds or toward the poles as part of the westerlies. The belt in the Northern Hemisphere is sometimes called the "calms of Cancer" and that in the Southern Hemisphere the "calms of Capricorn".
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.
Etymology
A likely and documented explanation is that the term is derived from the "dead horse" ritual of semen (see Beating a dead horse). In this practice, the seaman paraded a straw-stuffed effigy of a horse around the deck before throwing it overboard. Seamen were paid partly in advance before a long voyage, and they frequently spent their pay all at once, resulting in a period of time without income. If they got advances from the ship's paymaster, they would incur debt. This period was called the "dead horse" time, and it usually lasted a month or two. The seaman's ceremony was to celebrate having worked off the "dead horse" debt. As west-bound shipping from Europe usually reached the subtropics at about the time the "dead horse" was worked off, the latitude became associated with the ceremony.[1]
One theory, of sufficient popularity to serve as an example of folk etymology, is that the term horse latitudes originates from when the Spanish transported horses by ship to their colonies in the West Indies and Americas. Ships often became becalmed in mid-ocean in this latitude, thus severely prolonging the voyage; the resulting water shortages made it impossible for the crew to keep the horses alive, and they would throw the dead or dying animals overboard.[2]
See also
- Atmospheric circulation
- Circle of latitude
- Doldrums
- Intertropical Convergence Zone
- Roaring Forties
- Subtropical ridge
Citations
References
- The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003.
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http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/weather/horse-latitudes.html