Which planet has the longest equator. What are the Earth's diameter and equator? Countries along the equator

The equator is an imaginary line that divides the Earth into the northern and southern hemispheres and acts as the reference point for geographic latitude. The countries located closest to the equator have a hot, equatorial climate, a feature of which is the absence of a pronounced seasonal temperature change; in such countries, the temperature is approximately the same +25 - +30 degrees all year round.

Are there many countries through which the equator line passes? Let's count together.

In our understanding, the equator should pass exactly through the land territory of the country. Territorial waters do not apply to this. That is, we need countries where one foot can stand on the northern hemisphere, and the other on the southern.

1. Sao Tome and Principe.

A small island nation off the coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea. One of the tiny islands of this country - Rolash (port. Ilhéu das Rolas) is crossed by the equator. At the intersection there is a stele indicating such an unusual position of the island, as well as a bar and a hotel.

2. Gabon.

Despite the fact that the equator divides the country almost in half, Gabon makes little use of this feature to attract tourists. There are no settlements on the equator. On numerous roads crossing the equator, you will not even find any column or sign notifying you that you are already in the other hemisphere.

3. Republic of the Congo.

The equator crosses the country in a sparsely populated area among dense jungles. As in Gabon, on the roads that cross the equator, you will not find any information. Only in the small town of Makua, located clearly on the equator, there is a small globe frame on a dilapidated pedestal, by which one can guess that the equator passes here.

4. Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Not far from the border with the Republic of the Congo, on the outskirts of the city of Mbandaka, there is a commemorative plaque, as well as in a couple of places where large transport arteries (rivers or roads) cross the equator.

5. Uganda.

In the city of Kayabu, not far from Lake Victoria, there is a popular tourist complex in the form of two rings, where the equator line is indicated.

6. Kenya.

In this country, tourism is relatively well developed. That is why in Kenya, unlike other African countries, they are very actively covering the fact of crossing the equator. For example, in the city of Maseno, in the west of the country, there is a stele on the side of the road notifying that you have crossed the equator, and 200 meters to the east, right on the equator, there is a tourist complex with hotels and hostels. Also, the pointer is on the Nakuru - Eldoret highway, and other busy roads.

An interesting fact is that in the village of Nyang’oma-Kogelo, 100 meters from the equator, there is a school named after Senator and former US President Barack Obama. In addition, the house of the second wife of Obama's father is located in the same village.

7. Somalia.

The equator line runs through southern Somalia. But the country is immersed in its own problems: hunger, poverty, civil war and political instability. Therefore, there is no time for tourism in Somalia. There is not a single stele or even a sign in the country that you are crossing the equator.

Indonesia is a state in southeast Asia, located on several hundred islands. The equator crosses the three largest islands: Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, as well as about ten smaller ones.

Along the entire line of the equator there are sculptures in the form of a globe and the designation of the direction of the equator.

9. Ecuador.

The very name of the country comes from the word equator. 20 km north of the country's capital Quito, in San Antonio is one of the most famous monuments on the entire line of the equator - the "Middle of the World".

In addition, the highest point of the equator (4690 m) is located in Ecuador, which is located on the southern slope of the Cayambe volcano, and only in this place on the equator can snow cover be observed. Another fact is also interesting, in the Galapagos Islands (belonging to Ecuador), the equator passes directly through the active Wolf volcano, the eruption of which was on May 25, 2015.

10. Colombia.

The equator runs along the south of the country, where the impenetrable jungles of the Amazon are located. Tourists rarely set foot in these places. There is no infrastructure.

11. Brazil.

In Brazil, the equator line runs along the north of the country, in the west it goes through the impenetrable jungle. In the municipality of Rorainopolis, the equator crosses the highway, at this place there is a memorial with an indicator of the direction of the equator in the form of a hockey stick. In addition, the city of Macapa in the Amazon Delta is located simultaneously in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The Zeran stadium is located in this city, crossed by the equator line almost along the middle line of the field. Nearby is Marco Zero - a "monument" to the equator. From Marco Zero to the east, almost to the coast of the Amazon along the line of the equator, there is an "Equatorial street" (port. Avenida Equatorial). Also interesting is the fact that the delta of the world's most full-flowing Amazon River is located clearly on the equator.

In total, we counted 11 countries through which the equator line passes. In some countries, they are very proud of this fact and elevate it to the status of a national treasure, while others do not even react to it. In any case, crossing the equator line is a great event for a tourist, and this fact remains for a long time in memory.

I learned early on what the equator is, even from my first children's atlases, but it did not arouse a keen interest in me then.

A little later, when I became interested in the nature of South America, my interest in this issue increased dramatically. After all, the equator passes through three South American countries: Ecuador, Brazil and Colombia.

General information about the equator

Officially, we can say that: The equator is a section of the earth, passing through the center of the Earth, and perpendicular to the axis of its rotation.

I'll just tell you that if our planet, like a watermelon, is horizontal and even to cut in half, then on the cut there will be an equator that passes through: the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, as well as a dozen or more states in Africa, Asia and both Americas

It's interesting that:

• hemisphere separated from each other equator;
• length of the equator more than forty thousand kilometers;
• equator it is impossible to touch, in fact, it is only a mark on the maps.

Weather and climate

The climate is humid tropical.

He is characterized by:

If at the poles night and day can last almost half a year, then at the equator they always last exactly twelve o'clock.

Nature and ecology

equatorial belt rich in his tropical forests. It is home to many species of flora and fauna. The variety of life forms is amazing. Remember the African jungle and the Amazon jungle - how many unusual and amazing animals and plants are there!

Unfortunately, it is these forests that have become the main victims of mass deforestation. Violation of this unique ecosystem leads to the death of many species of flora and fauna. It is absolutely impossible to overestimate the importance of these forests for all of us, because they can rightfully be considered "lungs" of our planet.

And even though most of us live far from the equator, any forests are important for all of us! Keep this in mind and do your best to forests have not disappeared from the face of the earth.

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When I start to remember how I learned about the equator, several associations from quite early childhood come to mind. But the brightest is connected with the cartoon about Captain Vrungel. When his yacht crossed the zero parallel, the captain, according to the old maritime custom, arranged a holiday for Neptune, which caused some confusion for the ignorant crew members (they decided that Vrungel had overheated in the sun). Probably, then it became interesting to me what kind of place this "equator" is.

What is the equator

This is a fictitious line passing exactly between the two poles of the planet and at the same time perpendicular to the axis of rotation. So she divides the Earth into two hemispheres: Northern and Southern.

But, despite its intangibility, the equator can still be seen. This line is obtained the closest part of the planet to the sun, which means the warmest. Therefore, it is enough to look at a map of the Earth to see how juicy green tropical forests (they are also called equatorial) "outline" a kind of vegetative equator.

equatorial forests

Kingdom of evergreen trees with beautiful glossy leaves. By the way, the gloss here is not for beauty. Rainforests are always very humid, so plants have learned to produce a special wax that covers the leaves with a thin film It keeps them from rotting. From such "waxed" beauties, water rolls off like an umbrella.

Nowhere else on the planet you will find trees whose flowers and fruits grow right on the trunk. This phenomenon even received a special name - caulifloria.

But like any forest on Earth, the tropical one also has tiers:

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I received the minimum set of knowledge about the equator in my school years in geography lessons. While equator I associated it with the hottest place on the planet, where the sun constantly shines, where exotic fruits grow and amazing animals live. What is the equator?

The equator is the circumference of the earth

It is a circular line passing through the entire globe perpendicular to the axis of its rotation, and located at the same distance from the poles.

What is the equator for?

Once equator is an imaginary line, then I immediately had a question, why then did scientists need to imagine it?

• Thanks to the equator, as well as other imaginary lines (meridians, parallels), it is possible to very accurately determine the location of all objects, regardless of where they are (at sea, on land or even in the air).
• The equatorial line divides the planet into two parts: the northern and southern hemispheres.
• Thanks to the equator, it is easy to navigate in climatic zones. Territories that are located in the immediate vicinity of it receive maximum sun and warmth here is eternal summer! As you move away from here to the poles, you can notice a significant reduction in sunlight reaching the Earth's surface, respectively, with distance from the equator, the climate becomes colder. I live in central Russia, where even in summer it is not always warm and sunny. Therefore, I am very attracted by hot countries located in the equatorial region.

What is the length of the equator

Equator can be called the longest parallel. Its length was first calculated in ancient Greece. It was the scientist Eratosthenes. He watched the rays of the sun penetrate into a deep well. By measuring the time it took the rays to reach the bottom, he was able to determine the size of the radius of our planet, and then equator length. Such an approximate calculation gave a very accurate result - 40075 km. This parameter of the Earth is one of the key metric characteristics, which is actively used in geodesy, astronomy and astrology.

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One of my favorite topics at school in geography lessons was the calculation of geographical coordinates. In order to find the exact coordinates of the points, I was looking for the equator and the prime meridian. Around that time, I thought about how people live at the equator, because the Northern and Southern hemispheres are fundamentally different from each other. If it is summer north of the equator, then it is winter in the south at the same time. Of course, this happens only in theory, but in life the climate at the equator does not change at all.

What is the equator

When I hear the word equator, then I immediately present a geographical map with a clear straight line in the middle. In practice, this is not at all the case, because equator- only conditional lineI am, which divides the earth into two equal parts. From Latin aequator stands for "to equalize". Scientists call the equator a conditional line, which passes through the center of the earth parallel to its axis of rotation. Thanks to mathematical calculations, it was found that equator lengtha is 40,075.676 km.

Where is the equator

The equator line is start latitude reference. It passes through such large countries:

A bit of history

Even the ancient Egyptians sailed along the coast in the Mediterranean Sea. Phoenicians the first went beyond it through the Pillars of Hercules (as the Strait of Gibraltar was called) into the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. They dguessed about the existence of the equator, but also could not calculate its length. Phoenicians crossed the line of the equator and swam almost to the southern part of Africa. A cave drawing has survived to this day in Namibia. "The White Lady of Brandberg» .

Age of Discovery

After the discovery of America by Columbus, large-scale voyages of Europeans across the oceans began. Sea routes to India and Australia were opened. F. Magellan was the first to sail the territory of the globe. During your journey Magellan could not sail strictly on the equatoRU. This was not allowed by the geography of the oceans. During the first round-the-world trip already proved the existence of the equator. Navigators used the data of an ancient Greek mathematician Eratosthenes on the length of the equatorial line.

Thanks to the equator, we can calculate the exact coordinates of any point on the earth's surface. This conditional line helps navigate in climatic zones and natural areas. Exactly equatorial latitudes get most plenty of sunlight and heat.

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I remember at the age of 5, my girlfriends and I learned from older comrades that there is a country where it is always warm and always summer. That was the surprise, only knowing the world of kids, and enthusiastic exclamations: “I wish we were like that!”. Much later, at school, we realized that the name of this “super-country” is the equator (our school friends then had it in mind). The task of marking the equator on contour maps still evokes nostalgia when I look at them. And in my student years, the equator, like the passed half of the training, already had a completely different meaning :). But now we are talking about him from the side of geographical representations.

Equator: definition and characteristics

As on a geometric ruler, zero is the reference point, so the equator is the origin of the geographic latitude. Its latitude is zero. It figuratively divides the planet Earth into two hemispheres (Southern, Northern) and perpendicular to the axis of rotation. Interesting features of zero latitude:

• for there is real terrain in the path of the imaginary line. Zero parallel crosses three continents (Asia, South America, Africa), three oceans (Pacific, Atlantic, Indian), 13 countries;
• the areas near the equator are called the tropics. It really is always summer there. Warm, humid air. Day is invariably equal to night;
• this unique part of the Earth, in comparison with others, receives the greatest amount of radiation from the Sun;
• thanks to constant solar heat and rains, for a tropical climate characterized by very lush vegetation.

The equator was known even before our era

The knowledge of this fact once again makes one admire, truly, the greatest wisdom of the ancient scientists. As one of my teachers said: “It is easy to make discoveries with a number of tools to achieve the goal, but make at least one discovery with only your mind.” And they could.

Even more than 2000 years ago, the ancient Greek philologist, geographer, mathematician, astronomer - Eratosthenes of Cyrene was able to calculate the length of the radius of our planet and its circumference. The data obtained by him differ very slightly from modern ones! Scientists claim the length of the equator is 40,075 km, Eratosthenes "counted" approximately 39,500 km. Press "Enter" to comment

I like to always start with the origin and translation of the word, because usually this is the main meaning. Translated from Latin word"equator" means « equalize, equalize". That is, the very word "equator" is something separating and equalizing.

There are many everyday expressions for the word "equator". For example, the equator of study in a higher educational institution means half of the completed course of study. But I will return to the most commonly used meaning of this term, namely, to the geographical equator!

What is the Earth's equator

If we talk about the equator of the Earth, then this is equidistant from both poles imaginary plane, which divides our earth cuts it like an apple into two equal halves - Southern and Northern Hemispheres!

1. at the equator the length of the day and night are the same- this surprised me the most!
2. at the equator items at noon and people cast no shadows on equinoxes- feel like a vampire!
3. How closer to the equator, the less you will weigh, since gravity decreases!
4. At the equator our the planet is spinning faster! This rotation speed is almost one and a half times higher than the speed of sound in air!
5. equator line closest to the sun, so there warmest thing on earth, but nevertheless on the equator line at an altitude of 4690 meters situated glacier!

In the world exists several monuments to the equator! The most famous of them - Marco Zero in Brazil and a monument called "Middle of the World" in Ecuador.

Not in vain in Ecuador decided to build equator monument, because it is to him that the country owes its name! In the name of the opportunity to take pictures on the famous yellow line, crowds of tourists flock to it. But, in fact, the real equator line in Ecuador runs a little further - on the territory of the Intiñan Museum, but this usually does not bother tourists!

Why was the equator introduced?

Definition of the Equator helps with mapping, determining the coordinates, orienteering and even satellite launch! As we approach the equator, the climatic and physical conditions change so much that you do not have time to be surprised at the diversity of our planet!

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- (lat., from aequus equal). An imaginary line drawn through the center of the globe and dividing it into two hemispheres: northern and southern; equinoctial. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. EQUATOR ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

equator- a, m. equateur lat. aequator equalizer. 1. An imaginary line passing around the globe at an equal distance from both poles and dividing the globe (or celestial sphere) into the northern and southern hemispheres. ALS 1. I am under the equator, under ... ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

EQUATOR, the name of special imaginary circles. The earth's equator is located in the middle between the north and south poles and divides the globe into the northern and southern hemispheres; it is the zero line from which the geographical ... ... Scientific and technical encyclopedic dictionary

EQUATOR, equator, male. (lat. aequator, lit. equalizer). 1. An imaginary circle dividing the globe or celestial sphere into two different hemispheres, southern and northern (geographic, astro). Earth's equator. Celestial equator. 2. Every middle circle on a ball, ... ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

Active ingredient ›› Amlodipine* + Lisinopril* (Amlodipine* + Lisinopril*) Latin name Ekvator ATC: ›› C09BB ACE inhibitors in combination with calcium channel blockers Pharmacological groups: ACE inhibitors in combinations ›› Blockers … Medicine Dictionary

Buttocks, ass, toilet, meridian, belly, ass, butt Dictionary of Russian synonyms. equator n., number of synonyms: 9 heat (23) belly ... Synonym dictionary

- (from the Late Latin aequator equalizer) (geographical), a line of section of the earth's surface by a plane passing through the center of the Earth, perpendicular to the axis of its rotation. Separates the northern and southern hemispheres. The beginning of the reference of geographical latitude. ... ... Modern Encyclopedia

- (from late Latin aequator equalizer) (in geography) a line of section of the earth's surface by a plane passing through the center of the Earth, perpendicular to the axis of its rotation. Divides the globe into Sev. and Yuzh. hemisphere. Serves as the beginning of the calculation of geographic latitude. ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

EQUATOR, a, m. An imaginary line of intersection of the earth's surface by a plane passing through the center of the Earth, perpendicular to the earth's axis, dividing the globe into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949… … Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

M lat. equinox, equinox; a circle suspended from the axis of the world and dividing the imaginary heavenly firmament and our earth into two equal halves: northern and southern; then the heavenly, and this is the earthly equinox, under which days and nights are always equal, and the latitude of the place is zero ... Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

The heavenly great circle of the celestial sphere, whose plane is perpendicular to the line connecting the poles of the sphere, and parallel to the plane of the terrestrial E. Serves as the main plane for counting the declinations and right ascensions of the luminaries ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

Books

• Equator (2016 ed.), Sousa Tavares Miguel. The novel is classic, old... This Pushkin's formula, oddly enough, absolutely correlates with the novel Equator written in 2003, which belongs to the authorship of few of us...

Today, any student who has not skipped geography lessons will be able to answer the question posed in the title of the article. The length of the equator is just over forty thousand kilometers. But far from always people possessed this information, so first we will plunge into history.

The earth stands on three pillars...

Even at the very dawn of human civilization, in the Neolithic era, people began to think about the structure of the world around them, the structure of the Earth. In many ways, their ideas were based on mythology, with the help of which attempts were made to explain the phenomena of nature and the movement of heavenly bodies. In the absence of written sources, modern historians cannot say with accuracy what Neolithic people thought about the structure of the Earth. However, later, after the invention of signs that allow the preservation of ancient wisdom, it became possible to create entire scientific treatises. And in one of the ancient Indian texts, the theory was reflected, according to which the flat Earth rests on three giant whales, and the whales swim in the ocean. What the ocean rests on is not reported in the treatise. But what can we say about ancient people, if even today in the USA, as if confirming the words of Mikhail Zadornov, there is a “Flat Earth Society”, whose members defend their point of view, and explain the entire space program as a global conspiracy!

From geocentric...

However, with the development of science, three whales ceased to satisfy scientists, and in ancient Greece a theory appeared according to which the Earth, which has the shape of a ball, is at the center of the universe, and the Sun, Moon and stars revolve around it. The outstanding astronomer of antiquity, Ptolemy, also adhered to this point of view.

... to the heliocentric theory of the structure of the solar system

Although this theory was a big step forward, it could not explain all the visible changes in the starry sky, so the heliocentric theory was developed in parallel with the geocentric one, but many more years passed until the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was able to prove its validity.

Equator

The adoption of the heliocentric theory made it possible to define such a concept as the "equator". This is an imaginary line that runs along the surface of the Earth in a plane passing through its center and perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the planet. But if we figured out the definition, then the debate has not subsided so far about how long the equator is. To measure this value, without modern instruments, people had to at least reach this line.

The first sailors

For the first time, navigation arose in the Mediterranean Sea and was a coastal navigation, that is, along the coast, without losing sight of it. However, the Phoenicians soon learned to determine the position of their ship by the stars and were able to break away from the coast. After passing through the Pillars of Hercules (Strait of Gibraltar), they entered the Atlantic Ocean, crossed the equator and circled Africa. One of the proofs of such voyages is the famous White Lady of Brandberg, a cave drawing in Namibia. However, reaching the border between the Northern and Southern hemispheres still did not allow us to determine what the length of the equator is.

Age of Discovery

Soon people became so friendly with the sea-ocean that they began to swim farther and farther away from their native shores. Loud discoveries of new lands and sea routes followed: America, the waterway to India, Australia. And finally, Magellan's first circumnavigation of the world. This Portuguese navigator was the first to decide to find out what the length of the equator really is. And he led the expedition, which set itself the task of circumnavigating the globe. But it's all a joke. Ferdinand Magellan really made a trip around the world, but not strictly along the equator, but as the geography of the oceans allowed.

From travelers to scientists

Since it is rather difficult to determine such a value as the length of the equator by direct measurement "on the ground", some scientists decided to find the desired number using mathematical calculations. The ancient Greek mathematician Eratosthenes was the first to undertake such work. At the invitation of the Egyptian king Ptolemy III, he moved to Alexandria, where he soon became the keeper of her library. After a series of complex experiments and calculations, he determined that the length of the Earth's equator is 252,000 stadia. Since Eratosthenes lived and worked in Alexandria, he used Egyptian stages. If we translate them into kilometers familiar to us, then the length of the equator will be 39,690 kilometers, which is quite close to the true value. The error is less than 1 percent, for those times simply amazing accuracy of calculations.

The length of the Earth at the equator through the eyes of modern scientists

Years passed, centuries. Improved measuring instruments and techniques. Mankind went into space and was able to create the most detailed maps of the earth's surface. Accordingly, the length of the equator was determined more accurately. The line of zero latitude runs along the earth's surface, which has a height difference relative to the level of the world's oceans from 10,994 meters (Challenger Abyss, Mariana Trench) to 8,848 meters (Mount Chomolungma). And although such sharp changes in heights are not observed directly at the equator, it still makes it very difficult to measure its length. Therefore, for calculations, the average radius of the Earth was taken, which, according to the WGS-84 geophysical standard, is 6378 kilometers 137 meters, which gives an equator length of 40,075 km.

Is the length of the equator a constant value?

And now let's try to answer the question of what is the reason for the discrepancy in the values ​​of the length of the equator between modern scientists and Eratosthenes. Perhaps the whole point is not only in the imperfection of measuring instruments? What if the equator just got longer? Modern scientists adhere to the theory of the structure of the Earth and the drift of continents based on plate tectonics. However, back in 1968, the Soviet geologist Vladimir Larin put forward the theory of the hydride structure of the Earth's core. He suggested that the substance from which our planet was formed contained a large amount of atomic hydrogen. It reacted with iron and nickel, which make up the Earth's core, resulting in the formation of hydrides of these elements. As a result of internal processes in the bowels of the planet, the core gradually warms up and hydrogen is released. This leads to a decrease in density and, accordingly, to an increase in the size of the Earth. This theory not only more fully explains the "drift" of the continents, but also makes it possible to explain the formation of mineral deposits, primarily hydrocarbons. So it is quite possible that oil, gas, coal are of abiogenic origin, and their synthesis in the bowels of the planet is still taking place. Moreover, confirmation of the work of the Soviet scientist was also found in ancient Zoroastrian myths, where it is said that in order to increase the surface of the Earth, the gods increased its size three times by one third. This theory, among other things, makes it possible to explain the mass extinction in a short period of time of many species of ancient animals, the so-called Triassic massacre. The most interesting thing is that the increase in the radius of the planet occurs at the present time, by about two centimeters per year. This is confirmed by regular measurements of scientists, but earlier these results could not be explained, except for the absorption of dust from outer space by the Earth. So over time, the length of the equator will increase.

Poles (the northernmost and southernmost points of the planet). The equator also divides the earth into the southern hemispheres, being an important line for navigational purposes, since its latitude is 0°, and all other measurements of parallels north or south to the poles are taken from it.

Since the latitude of the Earth's equator is 0°, this is an important feature on the Earth's surface for navigation and exploration, as it serves as a starting point for studying the features of our planet based on latitude. For reference, the longitude line corresponding to the equator is the Greenwich (zero) meridian.

Geography of the Earth's equator

The equator is the only line on the Earth's surface that is considered a great circle. A great circle is any circle drawn on a sphere (or spheroid, like the Earth) with a center that includes the center of that sphere. Thus, the equator is considered a great circle because it passes through the center of the Earth and bisects it. The other lines of latitude (parallels) north and south of the equator are not great circles, as they narrow as they approach the poles and are not centered on the Earth.

Parallels are also great circles of the Earth, but due to the oblate shape of the planet, their circumference is less than at the equator.

Because our planet is an ellipsoid, slightly flattened at the poles and convex at the equator as a result of gravity and rotation, its diameter at the equator is 42.7 km (26.5 mi) larger than its polar diameter of 12,713.5 km (7,899.8 miles). Like the diameter, the Earth's circumference is also slightly larger at the equator due to the equatorial bulge. For example, at the poles the circumference is 40,008 km (24,859.82 miles) and at the equator it is 40,075.16 km (24,901.55 miles).

In addition, since the Earth is an oblate ellipsoid, the linear speed of its rotation at the equator is greater than anywhere else. This is because the circumference of the planet at the equator is approximately 40,000 km or 24,000 miles (for simplicity), and in 24 hours the Earth makes one complete rotation around its axis. So to find the Earth's linear speed, divide 40,000 km (24,000 miles) by 24 hours to get 1,670 km (1,000 miles) per hour. When moving north or south of the equator, the circumference of the Earth becomes smaller and thus the linear speed of rotation also decreases.

Climate and equator

Equatorial climate zone on the world map

The equator differs from the rest of the globe both in its physical environment and geographical purpose. However, the biggest of these differences is its climate. The equator experiences the same climate patterns all year round, dominated by warm, humid or warm and dry climates. Most of the equatorial region is also characterized by high humidity. These climatic features are due to the fact that the equator receives the highest level of solar radiation.

Countries along the equator

In addition to dense rainforests, the equator line crosses the land and waters of 13 countries. Some of these countries are sparsely populated, but others, such as Ecuador, have a high population and some of their largest cities on the equator. For example, Quito, the capital of Ecuador, is within 1 km of the Equator, and in the center of this city there is a museum and a monument marking it.

In addition to Ecuador, the equator line passes through the territories of the following countries: Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sao Tome and Principe (by sea near Rolash Island), Gabon, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Maldives (by sea between Suvadiva and Addu atolls), Indonesia, Kiribati (by sea), Colombia and Brazil.