CALMS, Region of, or Zone of, tracts in the eastern Atlantic and eastern Pacific oceans, on the confines of the tradewinds, where calms of long duration prevail. This region is not the same all the year through, but follows the course of the sun, and lies farther north or farther south according to the hemisphere in which the sun happens to be. About the win ter solstice its average northern limit is in lat. 5° N., and in the months about the summer solstice its average northern limit is about 12° N. lat. The southern limit lies nearly always to the north of. the equator, varying between lat. 1° and 3° N.; btu it is sometimes, though rarely, so far south as lat. 1° or 2° S. During the months following the winter solstice its av erage breadth is four degrees, while in the months following the summer solstice it is about six degrees. The calms prevail espe cially on the northern margin of this region, but even there, there is an occasional light breeze, but not sufficient to fill the sails. The climate
of this region is extremely unpleasant, for the atmosphere is moist and foggy, and the sky generally overcast and gloomy, and the heat is intense and unvarying. Almost every day there occurs a violent storm of thunder and light ning, accompanied by sudden blasts of wind, and by rain which falls in regular streams for hours together. On this account the region is dangerous to navigators. To increase these dangers there is between lat. 4° and 10° N., and long. 18° and 23° W., a tract of considerable extent, which seamen call the "rainy and which, with only rare intervals of calm, is visited by almost constant storms of thunder and lightning, and violent falls of rain, from which it is very difficult for a sailing vessel to make its escape.