Tropic of Capricorn

Exactly where it is

On January 1, 2026, the Tropic of Capricorn was at 23° 26′ 09.2″ S (23.43590° S): the same latitude as the Tropic of Cancer, but south. Both equal the tilt of Earth’s axis.

Since that tilt shrinks by about 0.47″ a year, the Tropic of Capricorn creeps north by about 14.4 m a year, 0.9 mi (1.4 km) per century, slowly closing in on the equator. The latitude comes from the International Astronomical Union’s formula for the mean obliquity (IAU 2006). Nutation adds a wobble of up to 9.2″ (about 280 m) over 18.6-year cycles that maps leave out.

Where it runs: ten countries and a lot of ocean

The Tropic of Capricorn is 22,859 mi (36,789 km) long, but only 8,852 km of it runs over land (24%); the other 27,885 km is ocean. On the Tropic of Cancer, land makes up 36%: the Southern Hemisphere is mostly water.

It crosses 10 countries: Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Australia, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. The longest stretch is in Australia, 2,305 mi (3,710 km) coast to coast through Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland.

Without touching land, it passes through French Polynesian waters, 2.4 mi (3.9 km) from the island of Tubuai. Bolivia falls 37 mi (60 km) short: its southern border doesn’t reach the line.

In Argentina it crosses Jujuy, Salta and Formosa; in Chile, the Antofagasta Region, in the heart of the Atacama Desert; and in Brazil, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná and São Paulo.

Cities near the Tropic of Capricorn

The closest large city is Maringá (Brazil), 1.8 mi (2.9 km) away, followed by Sorocaba (Brazil), 3.7 mi (6.0 km) away. Downtown São Paulo lies 8.3 mi (13 km) to the south, but the tropic cuts across the north of the city and Guarulhos airport.

The closest capital is Windhoek (Namibia), 60 mi (96 km) to the north, followed by Gaborone (Botswana), 83 mi (134 km), and Asunción (Paraguay), 128 mi (206 km).

Outside Brazil, Rockhampton (Australia) lies 5.0 mi (8.0 km) to the north, Toliara (Madagascar) 5.5 mi (8.8 km) to the north, Antofagasta (Chile) 15 mi (24 km) to the south, and Alice Springs, in the middle of Australia, 18 mi (29 km) to the south.

The sun straight overhead: the December solstice

At the December solstice, around December 21 or 22, the noon sun is directly overhead everywhere along the Tropic of Capricorn. It marks the start of astronomical summer in the Southern Hemisphere and its longest day.

South of the tropic the sun is never directly overhead. Between the two tropics it passes overhead twice a year, and on the equator it does so at the March and September equinoxes.

On the line itself, the June noon sun drops to 43.1° above the horizon, so the tropic has clear seasons.

Why it’s called the Tropic of Capricorn

About 2,000 years ago, when it was named, the sun was in the constellation Capricorn at the December solstice. Because of the precession of the equinoxes, the slow wobble of Earth’s axis, today the sun is in Sagittarius on that day.