Equatorial Monuments Around the World
Jun 5, 2016 5:17:59 GMT
tek, frankmcvey (Angel), and 3 more like this
Post by CuriousJM on Jun 5, 2016 5:17:59 GMT
Edit Note: July 10, 2022
This post is now defunct and a new post on the subject can be found at this link.
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This post is a major update of my earlier post on the subject. In the older post only 14 locations were marked while in the current post 36 39 locations have been identified so far. (See Edit Note dated June 7, 2016 at the end of this post)
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The Equator is an imaginary line on the Earth's surface approximately equidistant from the North Pole and South Pole and it divides the Earth into two Hemisphere - Northern and a Southern Hemisphere. Although major portion of the Equator lies on ocean however it crosses the land mass mainly in Indonesia, Sumatra, Central Africa and South America.
are just a hoarding or sign by the road. I have tried to locate such monuments/markers and these are listed below in sequential order of movement of Sun from East to West.
- Bambanipa, Trans Sulawesi Road, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
- Santan Ulu, Unknown Road, East Kalimantan, Indonesia
- Santan Ulu, Bontang-Samarinda Road, East Kalimantan, Indonesia
- Murung Raya, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
- Pontianak, Indonesia
- Sassa Village, Linga Island, Indonesia
- Pangkalan Lesung, AH25 (Lintas-Sumatra) Road, Indonesia
- Lipat Kain, Lipat Kain-Jalan Highway, Indonesia
- Koto Alam, Trans Sumatra Highway, West Sumatra, Indonesia
- Bonjol, Sumatra, Indonesia
- Nanyuki, Kenya
- Ol Pejeta Conservancy, near Nanyuki, Kenya
- Nyaharuru-Nyeri Road, Kenya
- Road C77 near Nyahururu, Kenya
- Unnamed Road near Solai, Kenya
- Nakuru-Sigor Road, Mogotio, Kenya
- Road C55 near Nakuru, Kenya
- Eldoret-Nakuru Road, near Baringo Railway Station, Kenya
- Siriba, Kisumu-Busia Road, Kenya
- Nabusanke, Masala-Kampala Road, Uganda
- Kikorongo, Fort Portal - Mpondwe Road, Uganda
- Kisangani-Goma Road near Congo River, DR Congo
- Mbandaka, DR Congo - An historical marker made by the famous Sir Henry Morton Stanley of "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" fame.
- Makoua, DR Congo
- Unknown Road off Hwy N2 near Nzoghengom, Moyen-Ogooué, Gabon
- Libreville-Lambaréné (N1) Road near Kongo, Gabon
- Islet of Rolas (Ilhéu das Rolas), Sao Tome and Principe Islands
- Macapá, Brazil
- AP-010/Duca Serra Road Intersection Marker near Macapá, Brazil
- BR-174 Road near Rorainópolis, Roraima, Brazil
- BR-307 near São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Amazonas, Brazil
- Unknown Road off E-10 near Marion, Tarapoa, Sucumbios, Ecuador
- Unknown Road off E-10, Sucumbios, Ecuador
- Sun-Dial Monument, Guachalá, Cayambe, Ecuador
- Globe Monument, Guachalá, Cayambe, Ecuador
- Pan American Highway (Garr 35), near Santa Rosa de Pingulmi, Pichincha, Ecuador
- The "un-official" Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the Earth), San Antanio, Ecuador
- The "official" Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the Earth), San Antanio, Ecuador
- The old Equator Monument, Calacalí, Ecuador
1. Bambanipa Equator Monument, Trans Sulawesi Road, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
Image from Panoramio is by nordinwan
Image from Panoramio is by jj_wind7
View location in Google Maps
3. Santan Ulu Equator Monument, Bontang-Samarinda Road, East Kalimantan, Indonesia
3. Santan Ulu Equator Monument, Bontang-Samarinda Road, East Kalimantan, Indonesia
4. Murung Raya, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
This monument is located in dense forest in the Tumbang Olong village, District Uut Danum, Murung Raya regency, Central Kalimantan. It was built in 2001 by a timber company. (Source: centralborneo.net)
View location in Google Maps
Credits for finding this location is to smask, Member Google Earth Community Forums. Thank you smask.
5. Pontianak Equator Monument, Indonesia
Image from Panoramio is by deddy_darusman
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6. Sassa Village Equator Sign, Linga Island, Indonesia
A simple nondescript sign. It can't get simpler than this!
Image from Panoramio is by pinckers
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7. Pangkalan Lesung Equator Monument, AH25 (Lintas-Sumatra) Road, Indonesia
Image from Flickr is by Bang Ardin
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8. Lipat Kain Equator Monument, Lipat Kain-Jalan Highway, Indonesia.
Image Source: Google Street View
9. Koto Alam Equator Monument, Trans Sumatra Highway, West Sumatra, Indonesia
Image from Panoramio is by Azdy elfistoni
Nearby there is another pillar marker;
Image from Panoramio is by elisabeth.poscher
View location in Google Maps
10. Bonjol, Sumatra, Indonesia
Image from Panoramio is by Richard Langford
Image from Flickr is by aikaterinh
Image from Panoramio is by sedas
Pedestrian Bridge
Image from Panoramio is by Hardi Muhardi, S.E.
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11. Nanyuki, Kenya
Image from Panoramio is by Cheuk
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12. Ol Pejeta Conservancy, near Nanyuki, Kenya
The Ol Pejeta Conservancy is a 90,000-acre (360 km2) not-for-profit wildlife conservancy in Central Kenya's Laikipia County. It is situated on the equator west of Nanyuki.
Image from Panoramio is by SergioC76
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13. Nyaharuru-Nyeri Road, Kenya
Image from Panoramio is by vividman
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14. Road C77 near Nyahururu, Kenya
Image from Panoramio is by Eyad Al Araj
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15. Unnamed Road near Solai, Kenya
Image from Panoramio is by TheStas
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16. Nakuru-Sigor Road, Mogotio, Kenya
Image from Panoramio is by roks
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17. Road C55 near Nakuru, Kenya
Image from Panoramio is by BurtsevAlexey
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18. Eldoret-Nakuru Road, near Baringo Railway Station, Kenya
Image from Panoramio is by gruntie
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Credits for finding this location is to smask, Member Google Earth Community Forums. Thank you smask.
19. Siriba, Kisumu-Busia Road, Kenya
Image from Panoramio is by Roloon
Image from Panoramio is by darko.paradi
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20. Nabusanke, Masala-Kampala Road, Uganda
Image from Panoramio is by alexluz
Image from Panoramio is by Dave LLOYD
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21. Kikorongo, Fort Portal - Mpondwe Road, Uganda
Image from Panoramio is by m.matsumoto
The basic design of this monument is same as the one at Nabasunke, Masala-Kampala Road, Uganda (# 20)
View location in Google Maps
22. Kisangani-Goma (N3) Road near Congo River, DR Congo
Image from Panoramio is by oltma
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23. Mbandaka, DR Congo
Mbandaka town was founded in 1883 by Sir Henry Morton Stanley of "Dr.Livingstone, I presume?" fame who had given it the name of "Equateur". Stanley had placed a large "Equator Stone" near the river bank south of the city to mark the point where he believed the Equator to cross the river. It remains there even today. (Source: Wikipedia)
Image from Panoramio is by philKin
Image from Panoramio is by philKin
View location in Google Maps
24. Makoua, DR Congo
Image from Panoramio is by Lydie STUELSATZ-DERBEZ
View location Google Maps
25. Unknown Road off Hwy N2 near Nzoghengom, Moyen-Ogooué, Gabon
Image from Panoramio is by Thomas Tvergaard
View in Google Maps
26. Near Kongo, Libreville-Lambaréné (N1) Road, Gabon
Image from Panoramio is by Yves Galipeau
Image from Panoramio is by bvoneche
The markers shown in these two images are basically same. The first one was the old marker made by Agro-Gabon, a Govt. owned company. It was privatised and taken over by Siat Gabon in 2004. The marker was therefore re-made and the new marker can be seen in the second image. However the locations of the two images in Panoramio are not matching. I have placed the GE placemarker based on the location marked by Yves Galipeau.
27. Islet of Rolas (Ilhéu das Rolas), Sao Tome and Principe
Image from Panoramio is by xavinap
View location in Google Maps
28. Macapá, Brazil
Image from Panoramio is by David e Brenna Alves
Image from Panoramio is by Pozzi Sergio
"Milton de Souza Correia Zerao" football stadium is located adjacent to the monument. Its midfield line lies exactly on the Equator - zero latitude. (Wikipedia)
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29. AP-010/Duca Serra Road Intersection near Macapá, Brazil
Image from Panoramio is by arcabuz
View location in Google Maps and Street View (There are two markers, one on each side of road. The other one can be seen in this link.)
30. BR-174 Road near Rorainópolis, Roraima, Brazil
Image Source: Google Street View
31. BR-307 near São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Amazonas, Brazil
A small marker with line and explanatory map.
Image from Panoramio is by Rafael Rezende
View location in Google Maps
32. Unknown Road off E-10 near Marion, Tarapoa, Sucumbios, Ecuador
Image from Panoramio is by mKlingsiek
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33. Unknown Road near E-10, Ecuador
Image from Panoramio is by Wilman Francisco Criollo Aldaz
Note: I am not sure about above location. As per plaque it should be 76°25'52.8"W where as the above Panoramio picture is placed at 76° 36' 0.45" W. Another Panoramio image is placed at 76° 35' 54.23" W.
34. Sun-Dial Monument, Guachalá, Cayambe, Ecuador
Image from Panoramio is by Wacope
Image from Panoramio is by seebub
This monument in the shape of a giant sun-dial is in Guachalá, Cayambe, Ecuador. Reportedly this is the only monument in Ecuador built exactly on the equator line. It is part of Quitsato Project a non-profit project which uses its funds for the investigation of the equatorial line.
View location in Google Maps
35. Globe Monument, Guachalá, Cayambe, Ecuador
A bit south of the Solar Clock monument on Equator there is another monument in the shape of Globe, at Guachalá, Cayambe.
Image from Panoramio is by Joeseph-Cro
View location in Google Maps and Street View
36. Pan American Highway (Garr 35), near Santa Rosa de Pingulmi, Pichincha, Ecuador
Image from Panoramio is by Martin Pazzani
View location in Google Maps
Credits for finding this location is to smask, Member Google Earth Community Forums. Thank you smask.
37. The "un-official" Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the Earth), San Antanio, Ecuador
Image from Panoramio is by mKlingsiek
Image from Panoramio is by rokapi2008
There are two Equatorial monuments in San Antanio. This is the unofficial one and is closer to the Equator as compared to the official one which is about 200 meters South-West of this location (see #38 below). Intiñan Site Museum is also located at this spot. Although it has staked claim for being virtually on the equator this claim is disputed by others.
View location in Google Maps
It is worth noting that an ancient Inca archaeological site about 3 kilometres to East, (shown below) is located on the equator itself.
The Quitsato Project using WGS 84, which is reportedly the most exact and up to date global positioning system, discovered that the peak of Mount Catequilla archaeological site was located exactly at the zero latitude ( 0º 0' 0" ).
38. The "official" Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the Earth), San Antanio, Ecuador
Based on the tools available with them in 1930s, the French Academy of Sciences had decided the location of the Equator at this site. Accordingly in 1936, with the support of the French American Committee, Ecuadorian geographer Dr. Luis Tufiño built a 10-meter monument at this location.
In 1979, the old monument was moved 7 km to the west, to the town of Calacalí
(see #39) and a larger replica of the original monument was made at the site although it was and remains about 200 metres away from the Equator. This slightly mislocated monument is the official and touristy monument and is called "Mitad del Mundo" (Middle of the World).
Mitad del Mundo contains a small Museum of local culture and other attractions such as a Planetarium, an amazing miniature model of Quito, the capital of Ecuador, and restaurants. A small town surrounding the monument at the Museo Etnográfico functions as the tourist center, replicating a colonial Spanish town and is called "Ciudad Mitad del Mundo" (Middle of the World City).
Image from Panoramio is by fernando D
Image from Panoramio is by fernando D
View location in Google Maps
39. The old Equator Monument, Calacalí, Ecuador
Image from Panoramio is by Zsolti a Béka
This monument was originally at San Antanio, about 7 kilometres to East, but in 1979 it was shifted to Calacalí, and is located near to, but not on the true equator line.
Its larger giant size replica has been built afresh on the original touristy site at San Antanio, (see # 35) and is called "Mitad del Mundo" (Middle of the World).
Its larger giant size replica has been built afresh on the original touristy site at San Antanio, (see # 35) and is called "Mitad del Mundo" (Middle of the World).
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Acknowledgement: My main source of information has been the Panoramio images of Equatorial Monuments/Markers posted by Panoramio users. I am thankful to all those users who have shared their images of Equatorial Monuments and Markers in Panoramio. It would have been almost impossible for me to find most of the locations without their pictures.
Edit Note - June 07, 2016
Based on the comments of smask , following locations have been added and the revised .kmz file uploaded. Thank you smask .
- Murung Raya, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
- Eldoret-Nakuru Road, near Baringo Railway Station, Kenya
- Pan American Highway (Garr 35), near Santa Rosa de Pingulmi, Pichincha, Ecuador
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Copyright: Images from Flickr / Panoramio are under the copyright of their owners. Screen captured image from Google Earth / Google Maps and Street Views are under the copyright of Google. Actual terms of copyright/reuse is available in the source link given below each image.
