Retreat of glaciers since 1850 doing so due to transient local weather conditions, which have brought more precipitation and cloudier, cooler summers since 2002. Tropical glaciers are located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, in the region that lies 23° 26′ 22″ north or south of the equator. Strictly, a tropical glacier is located within the astronomical tropics; the area where the annual temperature variation is less than the daily variation, and is within the oscillation area of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Tropical glaciers are the most uncommon of all glaciers for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the regions are the
Capricorn Coast Bay, Creek Rock, Emu Park, Hidden Valley, Kemp Beach, Keppel Bay Estate, Kinka Beach, Lammermoor, Meikleville Hill, Mercure Capricorn Resort, Mulambin, Mulambin Waters, Ocean View, Pacific Heights, Rosslyn, Statue Bay, Taranganba, Taroomball, Yeppoon, Wreck Point, Zilzie. Forty kilometres of long beaches and shallow coves grace the Central Capricorn Coast, from the Mercure Capricorn Resort in the north to the Zilzie Bay Resort in the south. Dotted along the way are a dozen seaside communities, and the major towns of Yeppoon and Emu Park. Clearly visible from every beach along the way is Great Keppel Island, thirty minutes away by boat.