Equatorial Monuments Around the World

Note: This post is now outdated. A new vastly revised and updated post is at this link. 

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 but it mainly crosses Indonesia, Sumatra, Central Africa and South America.

In few cities around the World, Equatorial Markers/Monuments have been erected to attract tourists. I have tried to locate such monuments and these are listed below in sequential order of movement of Sun from East to West. Maximum numbers of monuments (four) are located in Ecuador - a country whose name itself means Equator. However these monuments have some controversy regarding correct location on the true Equator.

1. Pontianak, Indonesia
2. Bonjol, Sumatra, Indonesia
3. Nanyuki, Kenya
4. Siriba, Kisumu-Busia Road, Kenya
5. Nabusanke, Masala-Kampala Road, Uganda
6. Kikorongo, Fort Portal - Mpondwe Road, Uganda
7. Mbandaka, DR Congo - An historical marker made by the famous Sir Henry Morton Stanley of "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" fame. (added Oct. 1, 2009)
8. Near Kongo, Libreville-Lambaréné (N1) Road, Gabon (added Oct. 27, 2009)
9. Islet of Rolas (Ilhéu das Rolas), Sao Tome and Principe Islands
10. Macapá, Brazil
11. Guachalá, Cayambe, Ecuador
12. The "un-official" Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the Earth), San Antanio, Ecuador
13. The "official" Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the Earth), San Antanio, Ecuador
14. The old Equator Monument, Calacalí, Ecuador

Here is a Map showing the relative locations.

(Note: The monuments in Ecuador are so close that these cannot be individually identified on a map of this scale.)

I request my readers to let me know if I have missed out any marker/monument.

1. Pontianak, Indonesia

Image from Panoramio is by deddy_darusman

View location in Google Earth Google Maps

2. Bonjol, Sumatra, Indonesia

Image from Panoramio is by Richard Langford

Image from Flickr is by aikaterinh

Image from Panoramio is by sedas

View location in Google Earth Google Maps (Unfortunately in low resolution)

3. Nanyuki, Kenya

Image from Panoramio is by Cheuk

View location in Google Earth Google Maps

4. Siriba, Kisumu-Busia Road, Kenya

Image from Panoramio is by Roloon

Image from Panoramio is by darko.paradi

View location in Google Earth Google Maps

5. Nabusanke, Masala-Kampala Road, Uganda

Image from Panoramio is by alexluz

Image from Panoramio is by Dave LLOYD

View location in Google Earth Google Maps

6. 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 (# 5)

View location in Google Earth Google Maps

7. Mbandaka, DR Cono

Image from Panoramio is by philKin

Image from Panoramio is by philKin

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)

View location in Google Earth Google Maps

8. 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.

Credits: I am thankful to Yves Galipeau for informing me about this location and also about Agro-Gabon/Siat.

View approximate location in Google Earth Google Maps

9. Islet of Rolas (Ilhéu das Rolas), Sao Tome and Principe

Image from Panoramio is by xavinap

View location in Google Earth Google Maps

10. Macapá, Brazil

Image from Panoramio is by David e Brenna Alves

Image from Panoramio is by Pozzi Sergio

View location in Google Earth Google Maps

11. 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 that destines its funds for the investigation of the equatorial line. More info at http://www.therealequator.com

View location in Google Earth Google Maps

12. 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

Unlike other places, 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 #13 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. (Ref: http://www.therealequator.com)

View location in Google Earth 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.

Image from Panoramio is by frankrod

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" ).

View location of Catequilla in Google Earth Google Maps

13. 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, Ecuadorean 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 # 14) 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 Earth Google Maps

14. 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. As per this website the Equatorial line is close to the Pileta de la Plaza de Cala Calí, about 180 metres North of the present location.

Its larger giant size replica has been built afresh on the original touristy site at San Antanio, (see # 12) and is called "Mitad del Mundo" (Middle of the World). Source of Info: Wikipedia

View location in Google Earth Google Maps

View all the locations in Google Earth - Download .kmz file
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Edit Note and Credits:

Oct 1, 2009

I am thankful to Wacope who, vide his comments dated June 15, 2009, had given some suggestions and had also pointed out few discrepancies in my original post about the monuments in Ecuador. Unfortunately I read these comments only now. This post has been revised based on his comments.

While revising I luckily found an equatorial marker in Mbandaka, DR Congo which was not included in my earlier post. This marker was created by none other than Sir Henry Morton Stanley of "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" fame. I have now included this historical marker also in this collection.

Oct 27, 2009

I am thankful to Yves Galipeau for informing me about the marker on Libreville-Lambaréné (N1)Road, Gabon and also about Agro-Gabon/Siat. The present revision is based on the information given by Yves Galipeau.

Nov 5, 2014
I am thankful to Kelley MacTavish for pointing out a typographical error in my post. Based on his comments, the name for #5 - Nabasunke, Masala-Kampala Road, Uganda has been corrected to Nabusanke, Masala-Kampala Road, Uganda.
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