Question

You’re reading from the journal of a European explorer from the early 1600s. In one passage, the explorer describes sitting on the Atlantic Ocean with little wind. He describes the area as being quite far north of the equator and having high pressure.

In which type of global wind was this explorer sailing?

doldrums
horse latitudes
jet stream
polar easterlies

Answer 1

Horse latitudes.

Those are the subtropical high‑pressure belts (~30° N/S) with sinking air and light, variable winds—historically where sailing ships were often becalmed.