A climate zone is a world area or region distinguished from a neighbor by a major physical climatic characteristic that is of global scale. Climate zones are bounded by limits that parallel lines of latitude to form “belts” that mostly extend around the globe; the word “zone” is actually derived from the Greek word meaning belt, and it is from classical Greek times that the concept of zones is derived.
History of the zonal concept
Beginning in the sixth century BC, Greek scholars identified zones of the Earth based upon astronomical knowledge and position of the overhead sun as related to changes in length of daylight. These illumination zones were called klimata(a word that is the origin of our word climate) and differentiated (1) a torrid zone (where the noonday sun was never far from overhead), (2) a temperate zone, and (3) a frigid polar zone. It was in the fourth century BC that Aristotle identified the parallels that gave the identified zones actual boundaries. He named the...
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Bibliography
Bailey, H.P., 1964. Toward a unified concept of the temperate zone. Geographical Review, 54: 516–545.
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Cross-references
Atmospheric Circulation, Global
Climatic Classification
Climatology, History of
Doldrums
Horse Latitudes
Temperature Distribution
Zonal Index
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Oliver, J.E. (2005). Climate Zones. In: Oliver, J.E. (eds) Encyclopedia of World Climatology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht . https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3266-8_51
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