With reference to Sub-Tropical High Pressure Belt, which of the following statements given is/are correct?
- Sub-Tropical High Pressure Belt owes its origin to the rotation of the earth and sinking and settling down of winds.
- These winds get deflected towards east due to coriolis force.
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1 only
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2 only
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Both 1 and 2
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Neither 1 nor 2
C
Correct answer
Explanation
Sub-Tropical High Pressure Belt (231/2° - 35° in both the hemispheres) : This belt owes its origin to the rotation of the earth and sinking and settling down of winds. It is, thus, mainly dynamically induced. The air rising at the equatorial belt starts blowing poleward. But, these winds get deflected towards east due to rotation of the earth. This phenomenon was first discovered by the French scientist Coriolis, hence this force exerted by the rotation of the earth is called coriolis force. The quantity of the force keeps increasing with increasing distances from the equatorial belt. This zone of high pressure is called 'Horse Latitude' because of prevalence of frequent calms. In ancient times, the merchants carrying horses in their ships had to throw out some of the horses while passing through this zone of calm in order to lighten their ships. This is why this zone is called 'Horse Latitude'. These are the regions of divergence because winds from these areas blow towards equatorial and subpolar low pressure belts.