Which equator crosses the continents?

Planet Earth is covered with a network of conditional blue lines. This can be seen on any of the physical maps. The equator is one such line. At any point along this line, the sun is at its zenith twice a year. The equator crosses the seas, islands and major rivers. It contains several large cities. We will consider in more detail the geography of the main parallel of the planet in this article.

What is the equator?

What continents does the equator cross? To answer this question, you need a physical map of the world. And in general, it will be useful to figure out what kind of line this is - the equator?

The term itself comes from the Latin word aequator, which means "equal", "level". This line is drawn, albeit conditionally, but not unreasonably. Figuratively speaking, the equator borders a plane that is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the Earth and passes through its center.

Twice a year at noon (March 20 and September 22) the sun is at its zenith above the equator. That is, the heavenly body directly above your head. These days, objects here don't cast shadows at all.

Which equator crosses continents, oceans and countries?

The equator is the main one of our planet, the latitude of which is 0 degrees. Its exact length is 40075.7 km.

Zero parallel of the Earth crosses various countries and seas, continents and oceans. The continents that cross the equator are traditionally considered to be "southern". There are only two of them - South America and Africa. The equator line also runs along the water surface of the planet's three oceans: the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific. In the Indian and Pacific Oceans, it crosses a number of large and small islands.

It should be noted that the equator crosses the continents in different ways. So, he “cuts through” South America in its northern part. The equator divides Africa almost in half. And this fact was reflected in the peculiarities of the nature of the "black continent". The main natural zones of Africa are mirrored in relation to the main parallel of the Earth.

If you look at this map of the planet, you can see in detail which continents the equator crosses (its line is shown in red).

The equator also passes through the territory of twelve independent states. In addition, the line crosses the economic zone of Kiribati, as well as the Baker Islands, owned by the United States.

Equator as a cultural attraction

In many countries, in places where the zero parallel passes, corresponding signs and monuments have been erected. So, there are grandiose monuments in Indonesia, Brazil and Ecuador. Commemorative plaques have been installed in Kenya, Gabon and Congo.

The most interesting and visited by tourists monument from this series is located in Ecuador, near the city of Kyoto. This is a monument called "Middle of the World", which was built in the early 80s. Its height is 30 meters. The monument is made of iron and concrete, and its top is crowned with a huge five-ton ball.

Near the monument there is all the necessary tourist infrastructure: a museum, cafes and souvenir shops. From the monument, a line is drawn right on the ground that divides the planet into the North and The obligatory ritual of every tourist who has been here is to take a picture so that the legs stand in different hemispheres of the planet.

True, few travelers know that the true equator line runs 240 meters from the popular attraction. It's all about the oversight that the builders of the monument made almost forty years ago.

Conclusion

The equator crosses the continents (Africa and South America), the oceans (Pacific, Atlantic and Indian), as well as a number of islands. In many countries of the world, the places where the main parallel of the Earth passes are marked with commemorative signs, tablets, or real monuments.