Which countries does the Equator pass through?
The Equator passes through 13 countries: Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, São Tomé and Príncipe, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, DR Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Maldives, Indonesia and Kiribati.
The Equator is an imaginary line around the middle of Earth at 0 degrees latitude, dividing the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. It is about 40,075 kilometers long. Most of its length crosses oceans, but it also passes through South America, Africa and the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
In South America, the line crosses Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil, passing through the Amazon rainforest. In Africa, it runs through seven countries, from the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe in the west to Somalia in the east, crossing Lake Victoria. In Asia, it crosses the Maldives' waters and the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi.
Life on the Equator
Places on the Equator have about 12 hours of daylight every day of the year and usually warm temperatures. But high mountains can be cold. Snow lies on the slopes of Cayambe in Ecuador, the only place on the Equator with permanent snow cover.
Did You Know?
Ecuador is named after the Equator. The Spanish word ecuador means equator, and a monument called Mitad del Mundo, Middle of the World, stands near Quito.