What is the name of the line of latitude at 23.5 degrees south of the Equator?

The line of latitude at about 23.5 degrees south of the Equator is the Tropic of Capricorn.

The Tropic of Capricorn marks the southernmost latitude at which the Sun can appear directly overhead at noon. This happens around the December solstice, when the Southern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun. The line’s exact position shifts slowly over time because Earth’s axial tilt changes.

The tropic crosses several countries, including Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Australia, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. Its route passes through deserts, grasslands, forests, and major agricultural regions.

The name comes from the constellation Capricornus, the Sea-Goat. The Northern Hemisphere counterpart is the Tropic of Cancer. Together with the Equator and the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, the tropics are among the most familiar lines used to describe Earth’s geographic and astronomical zones.