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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. [2]
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The horse latitudes are an area of high pressure at about 30° to 35° latitude (north or south) where winds diverge into the adjacent zones of Hadley or Ferrel cells, and which typically have light winds, sunny skies, and little precipitation. [1] [2]
The westerlies, anti-trades, [2] or prevailing westerlies, are prevailing winds from the west toward the east in the middle latitudes between 30 and 60 degrees latitude. They originate from the high-pressure areas in the horse latitudes (about 30 degrees) and trend towards the poles and steer extratropical cyclones in this general manner. [3]
The horse latitudes, or torrid zone, [20] is roughly at the 30th parallel and is the source of warm high pressure systems. As the hot air closer to the equator rises, it cools, losing moisture; it is then transported poleward where it descends, creating the high-pressure area. [ 21 ]
Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from 23°26′09.7″ (or 23.43603°) to approximately 35° north and south. The horse latitudes lie within this range. Subtropical climates are often characterized by hot summers and mild winters with infrequent frost.
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In the mid-latitudes, westerly winds are dominant, and their strength is largely determined by the polar cyclone. In areas where winds tend to be light, the sea breeze -land breeze cycle (powered by differential solar heating and night cooling of sea and land) is the most important cause of the prevailing wind.