The equator line, separating the northern and southern hemisphere of the Earth, passes about 25 kilometers (~16 miles) north of Quito. On the land called Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world), this bright yellow line shows where north meets south. (The equator line can actually shift 9 meters either way since the world wobbles slightly on its axis.) Ecuador, whose name translated from Spanish means “equator”, has done a nice job of making this site an interesting stop for tourists and locals alike.
Looking Down On The Equator From The Equator
It costs about $2 to get into the park and another $2 to get a view atop the Ethnographic Museum (Museo Ethnografico Mitad del Mundo). From there, on most days you’ll find great views of the surrounding mountains.
- There are smaller museums surrounding the tall Museo Ethnografico Mitad del Mundo; both the free insect and history museum are worth a stop.
We often take for granted our knowledge of the planet, but discovering the equator line began with the ancient Greeks and wasn’t full resolved until nearly 2,000 years later by French scientists. Sadly, I didn’t take the mandatory cheesy picture with one foot in both hemispheres but rest assured I did make the pose. Here are the rest of my pictures from the Mitad del Mundo.
It’s like the point where the Atlantic and the Mediterranean meet. Such intersections can be a little mystical.
It was kind of neat. Wish I could have seen some flushing toilets though on each side, wonder if they’d be going in opposite directions…
no one could resist standing with one foot on each side- what an awesome place to be!! I loved this sign…it spoke volumes. Loved the other photos as well.
Where would we be without our cheesy photos?? I think almost all travelers must have them 🙂
I like the 8 seconds part. I don’t know how long a second of longitude is at the equator, but it can’t be that far. I would have had a hard time resisting the urge to move the sign a bit.
At the equator a second of longitude is roughly 30 meters, although I’ll admit the details of longitude/latitude coordinates still fry my brain a bit.
You’re doing all the things I would have done if I spent more time in Quito – next time get that cheesy photo to kick off your next cheesy photo contest
haha, I was thinking just the same. It would have been the perfect one…
A shame there is no cheesy photo – but still an interesting story regardless 🙂
Might have to bust out with some of my other cheesy photos…eek!
I can’t believe you didn’t get the cheesy photo Anil. That’s a must.
Re: the toilets flushing the opposite way … yah, that was one of the first things I did when I got to New Zealand. I was strangely excited to see it!
Sounds like a beautiful place. I’d love to make it to Ecuador sooner or later.
I had heard they had 2 toilets set up at opposite ends to demonstrate but didn’t see anything. Not sure it would work or be natural anyway but would have been cool to see.
I also did the cheesy photo thing and straddled the Equator. I think that Ecuador has the most elaborate of the equator attractions. It is such a magical line I’ve made an effort to take a few photos any time I’ve crossed it. My favourite is still in Africa when they try to demonstrate the effect of the water spinning the opposite way a few feet either side of the magic line. My equator story is at http://www.travel-wonders.com/2009/03/hunting-imaginary-line-equator.html
That explains it, guess it wouldn’t have been ‘real’ if they had demonstrated the Coriolis effect in Qutio either.
How cool! That reminds me of standing on the continental divide. I love being in places like that with such geographic significance. I had no idea that the equator line actually shifted….very awesome!
Pretty crazy that they can measure that little wobble.
Hi Anil!
So you did make it to La Mitad del Mundo! I have the feeling you did not go to the Intinan museum right by, where you can actually see all these things you and other guests talk about.
Here is my post on the place http://www.maitravelsite.com/south-america/quito-la-mitad-del-mundo/ , and it has a video as well where you can see the water rotating in opposite directions just a few centimeters from the equator on each side and more.
Fun times for sure!
Federico
Hi Federico, yes I was able to take your suggestion and make it to Mitad del Mundo. I wasn’t able to get into the Intinan museum though, many things were closes when I arrived but may have just missed it; but great post and video from there, thanks for the link 🙂
what hemisphere is quito, ecuador located in?
It’s located just south of the equator.