20 interesting facts about the equator

We call the equator a conditional line that runs exactly in the center of our planet, and it is this line that is the longest road on Earth. Did you know that the equatorial line is longer than its counterpart, passing through the poles? The reason for this lies in the shape of our planet, which is slightly flattened due to rotation around its axis. The equator passes through the territory of many countries, however, it is not the hottest region on Earth – some deserts far from it are much hotter.

Interesting facts about the equator

1. The exact length of the equator is 40,075,696 meters. To walk such a distance on foot, at a speed of 5 km/h, without rest stops, a person would need almost a whole year. More precisely, about 8,000 hours.
2. To the north of the equator, when draining, the water twists clockwise, and to the south – against it. And if you drain the water exactly at the equator, the water does not swirl at all. It was in this simple way that sailors in ancient times recorded the intersection of the equator. This is due to the influence of the Coriolis force.
3. In Latin, this word means “to level”.
4. The equator divides our planet into two almost equal hemispheres – the North and the South. Why “almost”? Because the shape of the Earth is not a perfect ball.
5. The name of the Latin American country Ecuador is translated from Spanish as «equator» (interesting facts about Ecuador).
6. For the first time, the length of the equator was calculated by the ancient Greek mathematician and astronomer Erastofen of Cyrene, and almost exactly. According to his data, the length of the earth’s meridian is 250,000 stadia, that is, 40,000 kilometers.
7. The equator line does not cross the territory of the country called Equatorial Guinea, despite its name.
8. The Earth’s rotation speed at the equator reaches 465 meters per second. This is more than the speed of sound, equal to 331 meters per second.
9. The Congo River, which flows in Central Africa, crosses the equator twice.
10. According to the old maritime tradition, on ships crossing the equator, sailors of ancient times the Feast of Neptune was held.
11. The Brazilian city of Macapa is simultaneously located in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, since the equator line passes through it. There is even a monument to the equator in Macapá.
12. The football stadium of the aforementioned Macapa is located exactly on the equator.
13. At the equator, eternal summer always reigns, and temperature changes between day and night are minimal.
14. The Equator is further from the center of the Earth than the North or South Pole, at 21.3 kilometers (interesting facts about the North Pole).
15. It is here that the sun’s rays heat the earth’s surface as evenly as possible.
16. There is a glacier at the equator. This is the peak of the Cayambe volcano in Ecuador, rising to a height of more than 4.5 kilometers above sea level.
17. Along its entire length, the equator intersects only 33 islands, although there are hundreds of thousands of islands on Earth.
18. There are 14 countries on the equator.
19. Communications satellites in space are in geostationary orbit exactly above the equator, at an altitude of more than 35,000 kilometers.
20. Objects moved from the poles to the equator lose 0.53% of their mass due to the effects of centrifugal force and greater distance from the center of our planet.