The equator is an imaginary line dividing the Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, passing through 14 countries. Equatorial regions have a hot and humid climate, with little variation in temperature but seasonal precipitation. The equator is also the longest line on Earth and an ideal place to launch a spacecraft. Hurricanes do not form near the equator due to the weak Coriolis force.
The equator is an imaginary line dividing the Earth into the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. Its length is approximately 24,901.5 miles (40,075 kilometers). The line crosses the continents of South America and Africa, as well as numerous islands, and passes through 14 countries, including Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe, Congo, Zaire, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia and Indonesia. The location of this imaginary line is indicated in many areas, allowing you to stand with one foot in each hemisphere. The geographic areas that surround it are known as the equatorial regions and have a particular type of climate.
Latitude and longitude
The position of any point on Earth can be defined by its latitude and longitude, expressed in degrees (°). The lines of longitude all run from pole to pole and are all roughly the same length but are not parallel, as they converge towards the poles. The lines of latitude run perpendicular to the lines of longitude and are parallel, but decrease in length towards the poles. The equator is at 0° latitude and is the longest line, representing the circumference of the Earth. When a latitude is given for a location not on the equator, it must be specified whether it is north or south of this line.
Length of day and seasons
Because the Earth wobbles slightly on its axis throughout the year, higher latitudes experience summer and winter seasons, as well as variations in day length. At the equator, however, the effects of this wobble are minimal. As a result, the region has 12 hours of daylight throughout the year and has no clearly defined seasons, at least in terms of temperature.
Climate
Equatorial regions receive more heat from the Sun than any other area of the earth’s surface, and warming of the atmosphere in these regions drives the world’s climate system. Warm air, which also contains much moisture from the ocean, rises near the equator, flows outward at high altitudes, and flows back down at mid-latitudes, having lost most of its moisture. For this reason, areas near the equator tend to be both hot and humid, while most of the world’s deserts are found in the mid-latitudes.
Average maximum daily temperatures are typically around 80-90°F (27 – 32°C), but this is affected by altitude, with higher areas being cooler. Annual rainfall generally ranges from about 98 inches (249 cm) to about 138 inches (350 cm). There is usually not much variation in temperature throughout the year, but precipitation often has a seasonal aspect, as it is influenced by ocean currents and factors outside the region. The rainy and dry seasons vary from place to place, with some areas experiencing high to very high rainfall year-round, and others having distinct relatively dry periods. The high temperatures and abundant humidity found in most equatorial areas have resulted in the growth of rainforests with a great diversity of plant and animal life.
Curiosity
The length of the equator has been measured very accurately by geographers and surveyors. According to a 2000 survey, to within 0.04 inch (1 mm) of accuracy, it is 131,479,775 feet 6.92 inches (40,075,035.535 m). Because the Earth bulges slightly around the center, the equator is slightly longer than an imaginary circle drawn between the poles. If mountain heights are measured in terms of distance from the center of the Earth, instead of the more traditional height above sea level, the world’s tallest mountain is not Everest, but Chimborazo in Ecuador, whose summit is further away from the center of the Earth than any other mountain, due to its very low latitude.
Since the Earth is rotating, a person standing at the equator travels faster than a person at a high latitude. The rotational speed at 0° latitude is 1.038 mph (1.670 km/h), compared to 0 at the poles. For this reason, the equator is an ideal place to launch a spacecraft, as it is already traveling quite fast before launch and therefore requires less fuel.
The main factor in the formation of hurricanes is the temperature of the ocean: where it is not high enough, they will not form. Although ocean temperatures at 0° latitude are high enough for hurricanes to form, these storms have not been observed to form anywhere in the range from 5° north to 5° south. This is thought to be because the Coriolis force – an influence due to the rotation of the Earth – is not strong enough here to cause the required rotational motion. It also appears that hurricanes never cross the equator, apparently because the Coriolis force always causes them to veer north or south, depending on the hemisphere.
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