Tropic of Cancer — World Map, Countries It Crosses, and Geographic Facts
By Marko Visic · Updated Oct 3, 2026
The Tropic of Cancer is the parallel of latitude at 23°26′N — the northernmost point on Earth where the sun can pass directly overhead. At 36,788 km long, it crosses 18 countries and territories on three continents. Click any country on the map for the entry and exit longitudes and the land it crosses.
| Country | Land on the line | Enters → leaves (approx.) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 984 km (611 mi) in 2 stretches | 110.24° W → 97.76° W | Crosses Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas |
| Bahamas | 12 km (7 mi) in 2 stretches | 75.64° W → 75.17° W | Passes through the Exuma Cays |
| Western Sahara | 400 km (249 mi) | 15.99° W → 12.07° W | Territory claimed by Morocco and by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. |
| Mauritania | 578 km (359 mi) | 12.07° W → 6.41° W | |
| Mali | 407 km (253 mi) | 6.41° W → 2.42° W | |
| Algeria | 1,457 km (905 mi) | 2.42° W → 11.83° E | |
| Niger | 51 km (32 mi) | 11.83° E → 12.33° E | |
| Libya | 1,287 km (800 mi) in 2 stretches | 12.33° E → 24.98° E | |
| Chad | 5 km (3 mi) | 15.95° E → 16.00° E | A sliver where the Chad, Libya and Niger borders meet. |
| Egypt | 1,078 km (670 mi) | 24.98° E → 35.53° E | Passes near Aswan and the Lake Nasser dam |
| Saudi Arabia | 1,379 km (857 mi) | 38.64° E → 52.13° E | Passes about 135 km south of Riyadh |
| United Arab Emirates | 330 km (205 mi) | 52.13° E → 55.36° E | Crosses the south of Abu Dhabi emirate for about 330 km |
| Oman | 352 km (219 mi) | 55.36° E → 58.80° E | |
| India | 2,254 km (1,401 mi) in 4 stretches | 68.43° E → 93.40° E | Crosses Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura, Mizoram |
| Bangladesh | 288 km (179 mi) in 4 stretches | 88.75° E → 92.30° E | |
| Myanmar | 560 km (348 mi) | 93.40° E → 98.88° E | |
| China | 1,856 km (1,153 mi) in 2 stretches | 98.88° E → 117.14° E | Passes through Yunnan, Guangxi and Guangdong |
| Taiwan | 137 km (85 mi) in 2 stretches | 120.01° E → 121.48° E | Crosses Chiayi County and Hualien County |
| Total land: 13,415 km (8,336 mi), 36.5% of the line | |||
Computed from Natural Earth 1:10m country boundaries (v5.1.2, public domain) on the WGS-84 ellipsoid, 2 Oct 2026. Floating ice shelves are not counted; figures can be off by a few km.
Bodies of water crossed
Quick facts
- Named for the constellation Cancer the Crab — at the moment of the June solstice, the sun was historically located in Cancer.
- Today the June solstice sun appears in Taurus, due to ~2,000 years of axial precession; the line keeps the historical name.
- On the June solstice (around 21 June), the sun is directly overhead at the Tropic of Cancer at solar noon — this is the longest day of the year for the Northern Hemisphere.
- The Sahara Desert sits squarely on the Tropic of Cancer — the line’s descending dry air drives the world’s largest hot desert.
- Every country the Tropic of Cancer passes through experiences at least one day per year when shadows shrink to zero at noon.
- The Tropic of Cancer’s exact latitude shifts slightly over time — Earth’s axial tilt oscillates between about 22.1° and 24.5° on a 41,000-year cycle.
What is the Tropic of Cancer? Definition and Geographic Facts
The Tropic of Cancer is one of the five major parallels of latitude that mark significant astronomical and climatic boundaries on Earth. By definition, it is the northernmost latitude at which the sun can appear directly overhead at solar noon — an event that happens once a year, on the June solstice. North of the Tropic of Cancer, the sun is never directly overhead; south of it, the sun reaches zenith at least twice a year (once on the way north, once on the way south).
Tropic of Cancer definition (short): the parallel of latitude at 23°26′N marking the northern boundary of the tropics. Tropic of Cancer latitude: 23.4359° (decimal degrees), set by Earth's axial tilt of about 23.4°. Tropic of Cancer length: 36,788 km (22,859 mi) — about 92% the length of the Equator.
Where is the Tropic of Cancer on a world map? On any standard world map, the Tropic of Cancer is the horizontal line about a third of the way down from the top of the visible world. It runs west-to-east across the Pacific (off Mexico), through Mexico, the Bahamas and the Atlantic, then through the Sahara (Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali, Algeria, Niger, Libya, Egypt), across the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman), through India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, and Taiwan, before completing its 36,788 km loop in the Pacific Ocean.
Astronomically, the Tropic of Cancer is the line where the sun reaches its highest possible altitude — directly overhead — at the moment of the June solstice (around 21 June). On that day, vertical objects on the line cast no shadow at solar noon, a phenomenon called “zero shadow day.” Climatologically, the Tropic sits in the descending branch of the Hadley cell, where air sinks and warms — producing the planet's largest belt of hot deserts: the Sahara, the Arabian Desert, and the Thar.
How to use this Tropic of Cancer map
- Open the world map. The orange horizontal line is the Tropic of Cancer at 23°26′N (23.4359° latitude) — 36,788 km long. The 18 countries and territories the Tropic of Cancer passes through are highlighted with a translucent fill in the same color.
- Click any country to see where the line enters and exits. Click a highlighted country on the map to open a popup showing the longitudes where the Tropic of Cancer enters and exits, plus the kilometers of land crossed. India is the longest stretch — over 2,200 km.
- Read the country-by-country crossing table. The reference table below the map lists all 18 countries and territories in west-to-east order with the kilometers of land the Tropic of Cancer crosses in each, the entry and exit longitudes, and notes. India has the longest land stretch; Chad is a 5 km sliver.
- Read the climate, astronomy, and history notes. Below the table: bodies of water crossed (Atlantic, Pacific) and a fact panel covering the June solstice, why the line is named after Cancer, and how Earth's axial tilt makes the Tropic the northern boundary of the tropics.
The 18 countries and territories the Tropic of Cancer passes through
From west to east, here is what the Tropic of Cancer passes through in each country, with the landmarks, towns, deserts, and ecological zones along the line.
Mexico
The Tropic of Cancer crosses Baja California Sur, then the mainland states of Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas: seven states. The line marks roughly the southern boundary of the Mexican high plateau and the transition between the temperate north and the tropical south. Mexico is the only mainland North American country the Tropic of Cancer crosses.
Bahamas
The Tropic of Cancer crosses the Bahamas through the Exuma Cays, between Long Island and the Great Bahama Bank. The line runs through a chain of small uninhabited islets — at standard zoom levels the Bahamian polygon at this resolution shows the Tropic passing along its southern edge.
Western Sahara
The Tropic of Cancer crosses the disputed territory of Western Sahara in its central Sahara desert region. The line passes through the territory at roughly 13°W, in an area dominated by hammada (rocky desert plateaus) and erg (sand seas). Western Sahara is the smallest jurisdiction on the line by population.
Mauritania
The Tropic of Cancer enters Mauritania in the eastern Sahara and runs west through Adrar Region. The line crosses dramatic desert landscapes including the Adrar Plateau and the iconic "Eye of the Sahara" (Richat Structure) at about 11°W — one of the most-photographed features of the Earth from space.
Mali
The Tropic of Cancer crosses Mali in the Sahara north of Timbuktu, through Taoudenni and the salt-mining region. This is the most remote stretch of the line in West Africa — the only roads are camel-and-truck tracks linking the salt mines to the inhabited Sahel further south.
Algeria
The Tropic of Cancer crosses Algeria in the heart of the Sahara, through Tamanrasset Province. The line passes near the Hoggar Mountains, an ancient massif rising above the desert plain. Tamanrasset itself, the largest town on the Algerian Sahara, sits about 200 km south of the line.
Niger
The Tropic of Cancer crosses northern Niger through Agadez Region, including the Aïr Mountains and the Ténéré Desert. The Aïr range is the largest mountain massif in the central Sahara; the Ténéré dunes are among the largest sand seas on Earth.
Chad
The Tropic of Cancer only grazes Chad: a roughly 5 km sliver in the far north where the borders of Chad, Libya and Niger meet, in the empty Saharan desert. It is the shortest land crossing on the entire line.
Libya
The Tropic of Cancer crosses Libya in the Fezzan region of the southwestern Sahara. The line runs through some of the most arid territory on Earth — annual rainfall averages less than 25 mm, and summer ground temperatures can exceed 70 °C.
Egypt
The Tropic of Cancer crosses Egypt just south of Aswan, near the Lake Nasser dam. The dam — the High Dam, completed in 1970 — is among the world’s largest embankment dams, and the line passes within 100 km of it. Egypt is one of the few Tropic of Cancer countries with a major population center near the line: Aswan city sits at about 24°N, just north of the Tropic.
Saudi Arabia
The Tropic of Cancer crosses Saudi Arabia through the Najd plateau, passing about 135 km south of the capital Riyadh (which sits at 24.7°N). The line continues east through the Eastern Province toward the UAE border. Saudi Arabia's hot-desert climate (BWh) is at its most extreme on the Tropic of Cancer, with summer noon temperatures regularly exceeding 50 °C.
United Arab Emirates
The Tropic of Cancer crosses the south of Abu Dhabi emirate for about 330 km, passing through the Empty Quarter (Rub' al-Khali) — the world's largest contiguous sand desert. The line's stretch through the UAE is uninhabited; the populated coastal cities (Abu Dhabi, Dubai) sit north of the line.
Oman
The Tropic of Cancer crosses Oman through the Empty Quarter and the inland desert. The line exits Oman on the Arabian Sea coast roughly 200 km west of the Omani capital Muscat.
India
India is the country with the longest Tropic of Cancer stretch — the line crosses the entire subcontinent west to east through eight states: Gujarat (entering near Ahmedabad), Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal (just clipping Kolkata's northern suburbs), Tripura, and Mizoram. The Tropic divides India climatologically — north of the line is the Indo-Gangetic Plain (subtropical), south is peninsular India (tropical).
Bangladesh
The Tropic of Cancer crosses Bangladesh through Rangpur Division in the north of the country. The line runs through some of the most densely populated rural land on Earth — Bangladesh's overall population density is over 1,200 people per km², and the Tropic passes through districts that sit at or above that average.
Myanmar
The Tropic of Cancer crosses Myanmar through the Sagaing and Mandalay regions, near the city of Mandalay (Myanmar's second-largest). The line continues east toward the Shan Plateau and the China border.
China
The Tropic of Cancer crosses southern China through three provinces: Yunnan, Guangxi and Guangdong. Major cities near the line include Kunming (about 180 km north), Nanning (south), Guangzhou (just south at 23.1°N), and Shantou. The Tropic divides China into a subtropical north and a tropical south, with significant climate and agricultural consequences.
Taiwan
The Tropic of Cancer crosses Taiwan through Chiayi County in the west and Hualien County in the east, dividing the island roughly in half. A famous painted line and monument in the town of Shuishang in Chiayi marks the crossing — a popular tourist stop.
Climate at the Tropic of Cancer
The Tropic of Cancer sits at one of the most climatologically significant latitudes on Earth. It is the center of the descending branch of the Hadley circulation — the global atmospheric overturning that lifts moist air at the Equator, drives it poleward at high altitude, and brings it back down at roughly 30° latitude (with the Tropic at 23.4° just inside that band). Descending air warms adiabatically and dries out, which is why the world's largest hot deserts cluster at this latitude in both hemispheres.
On the Tropic of Cancer specifically, the deserts are: the Sahara (the world's largest hot desert, 9.2 million km²) covering the African leg of the line; the Arabian Desert (covering Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman) at 2.3 million km²; and the Thar Desert in India and Pakistan. The line also crosses the Mexican Plateau's northern arid zone and Taiwan's humid subtropics — Taiwan is one of the few moist regions on the Tropic.
The Indian and Chinese sections experience monsoon climates because the seasonal northward migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) brings the rain belt over the line in summer. India's south-west monsoon delivers 80% of the country's annual rain in just four months (June through September), and the Tropic of Cancer marks the approximate northern edge of full monsoon penetration into the subcontinent.
The June solstice and the Cancer constellation
The Tropic of Cancer is named for the constellation Cancer the Crab. The naming dates to the era of Greek and Hellenistic astronomy (around 200 BCE), when astronomers observed that the sun appeared in front of the Cancer constellation at the moment of the June solstice — the day the sun reaches its northernmost declination. The latitude where the sun is directly overhead on that day was therefore named the “Tropic of Cancer” (Greek tropikos meaning “turning point”).
When the line was named about 2,000 years ago, the Sun stood in the constellation Cancer at the June solstice; precession has since moved that point out of Cancer. The names “Tropic of Cancer” and “Tropic of Capricorn” have been retained for historical continuity even though the underlying astronomical alignments have shifted.
The exact latitude of the Tropic of Cancer is also not fixed in time. Over the last million years the tilt has ranged between 22.1° and 24.5° in a cycle of about 41,000 years — one of the NASA-documented Milankovitch cycles that drive ice ages; it is slowly decreasing and will reach its minimum about 10,000 years from now. Because the tilt is shrinking, the Tropic drifts toward the Equator by about 14.4 meters a year.
Where to stand on the Tropic of Cancer: monuments and visitor sites
Several countries have built monuments marking the Tropic of Cancer. The most prominent is the Tropic of Cancer Marker in Shuishang, Chiayi County, Taiwan — a tall white obelisk and small museum that mark the exact latitude with a painted line and a sundial. The site has been a tourist destination since the 1900s and includes ceremonies on the June solstice. In Aswan, Egypt, an obelisk and visitor center near the High Dam mark the line; the site is famous because the ancient astronomer Eratosthenes used Aswan's position on (or very near) the Tropic to compute Earth's circumference around 240 BCE.
In Mexico, the Tropic of Cancer Visitor Center near Mazatlán features markers and educational displays. In India, painted line markers are common along highways crossing the line, including a notable one in Mahasamund, Chhattisgarh. The Sahara crossings (Mauritania, Mali, Algeria, Libya) have informal painted line markers along desert highways, mostly placed by truck drivers using GPS.
Related tools and resources
How any of these reference lines actually appears on a flat map depends entirely on the projection — our visual guide What is a Map Projection? covers the math and shows six projections side-by-side, with Tissot indicatrices on each.
For the other major lines of latitude and longitude, see our companion tools: the Equator (0° latitude), the Tropic of Capricorn (the southern mirror of this line), Arctic Circle, Antarctic Circle, Prime Meridian, and International Date Line. To compare the relative sizes of the Tropic of Cancer countries side-by-side (Mexico vs. India vs. China), use our country size comparison tool.
For exact latitude and longitude lookups, see the latitude longitude finder. For solar position at any point on the Tropic of Cancer (including solstice zero-shadow day), see the sun position calculator. For travel-distance calculations between Tropic of Cancer cities, use distance between two places.
Frequently asked questions
Data sources & methodology
Country list and per-country length: the line was intersected with every country polygon from Natural Earth 1:10m Admin 0 (v5.1.2, public domain). Lengths are measured on the WGS-84 ellipsoid (arc of the parallel) and rounded to the nearest kilometer; coordinates are rounded to 0.01°. Floating ice shelves are not land in this dataset, and 1:10m coastline detail can move a figure by a few km.
Latitude: 23°26′09″N (23.4359° decimal). The exact latitude shifts slightly each year due to Earth's axial tilt oscillation.
Map: MapLibre GL JS with OpenFreeMap “Liberty” vector tiles. Last reviewed 8 May 2026.