The equator

📖 In short

The equator is an imaginary line around the middle of the Earth like a belt, halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole. You can't see it on the ground, but it's drawn on maps and globes, and it divides the Earth into two equal halves: north and south.

🤩 Did you know?

The Earth measures about 40076 kilometers around the equator.
On the equator, each degree of longitude is about 111 kilometers.
The word “Ecuador” means “equator” in Spanish.
You can see snow on high mountains near the equator.

🔎 Find out more

🌟 Where latitude starts

Latitude is measured from the equator, which is zero degrees. The further north or south you go, the higher the degrees, up to 90 at each pole.

🔍 Hot all year

Over the equator the Sun is high in the sky all year, so places near it are always hot, and many have rainforests.

💡 Equal days and nights

On the equator, day and night are almost the same length all year: about 12 hours each.

🎯 Countries on the line

The equator passes through several countries, including Ecuador, which is named after it, Kenya, Congo, Indonesia and Brazil.

🧩 Test yourself

1 Into how many halves does the equator divide the Earth?

2 Which country is named after the equator?

3 The Earth measures about ?? kilometers around the equator.

4 Which picture shows “The equator”?