The Equator is an imaginary line that divides the Earth into two hemispheres – the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. It is also known as the latitude 0°. The Equator is about 40,075 kilometres long.
There are a total of 13 countries that pass through the equator line – Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Congo, Kenya, Somalia, Indonesia, Kiribati, Maldives, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Of these, Ecuador, Kenya and Somalia are the only countries that lie completely on the equator line.
Mbandaka (DRC), Kampala (Uganda), Kisumu & Nakuru (Kenya), Kismayo (Somalia), Pontianak (Indonesia), Quito (Ecuador), Macapá (Brazil), Libreville (Gabon) - all are on or very close to the equator. In South America the country Equador is split by the equator.
The rotation of the earth away and towards the sun is what causes day and night. The countries that are located on the equator experience 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness every single day of the year! For people who live in these countries, there is no real change in seasons. The weather is generally the same all year long.
The equator is located in the tropics. The tropical climate is characterised by high temperatures and high humidity. There are two seasons in the tropics: the wet season and the dry season.
The wet season is the time of year when the rains come. The dry season is the time of year when the rains go away.
The wet season lasts from May to October. The dry season lasts from November to April.
The length of the equator is 24,901.55 miles long. The distance of the equator from the north pole is 12,450.28 miles and the south pole is 12,451.27 miles.
The Tropic of Cancer lies at 23d 26' 22" (23.4394 degrees) north of the Equator and marks the most northerly latitude at which the sun can appear directly overhead at noon. This event occurs at the June solstice, when the northern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun to its maximum extent. The line at 23°27′ north latitude is named the Tropic of Cancer because earlier in history, when the line was named, the Sun lay in the constellation Cancer on June 21.
The Tropic of Capricorn can be found at latitude 23.5 degrees south. when the Sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn at noon, it will not be visible from the Arctic Circle.
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