For the convenience of determining the coordinates on the map or globe on this conditional image of the earth’s surface, lines are applied, which received the name of meridians and parallels, among which two lines occupy a special place Greenwich meridian and equator.
Parallels, meridians and other lines
With a virtual attempt to cut the globe into several components, you can get a circle at the cut, and on the surface there may be traces corresponding to circles of different sizes and diameters. And the most significant size in such an imaginary separation of the planet will differ a circle that will pass through the core of the planet, and the circumference that limits it will be the longest.
It should be understood that with such cutting into the same parallel sections, all circles will be clearly located in parallel to the other.
Geography calls such circles obtained by imagining cutting of the surface, parallels and they are usually applied to a map or globe. And those places where they turn into points, are precisely located at the poles of the planet.
These points are located in places where there is a intersection with the surface of the conditional axis of rotation of the planet, and such lines between the poles are equal along the entire length and are called the meridians.
Definition
The equator in geography is called an imaginary line passing along the surface of the planet, length from east to west, while lying in the perpendicular direction regarding the intersection of the center of the Earth axis between the two poles, t.e. between the two points the northernmost and the southern.
The equator line divides the planet into two equal hemispheres the southern and north, representing a strategic line relative to any navigation goals. This position is due to the fact that the breadth of the equator is a reference point and has a zero value. This means that other parallels and their measurement in the northern or south to the points of the poles begin to count from it.
Moreover, any other sections of the sections of the planes, relative to the equator, are commonly called parallels and all of them are significantly inferior to the equator in parameters.
The breadth of the equator is zero and this is precisely what is essential for geography, navigation and intelligence with the value. First of all, it acts as a starting point regarding the study of the features and the nuances of the planet, which belong to the latitude.
The equator is a concept that relates in the geographical system of coordinates to latitude, and similar to it, which concerns longitude, is Greenwich, or zero meridian, the reference point of which is the observatory in the northern district of London.
There are several definitions of what the equator is in geography, and it is customary to attribute to them:
Moments characterizing the equator
The equator is an imaginary circular line lying through the center of the planet and encircling the entire Earth, which is the most significant circle (by the way, more than one person could not make a trip around the equator).
At the same time, there is a monument with a zero mark on Earth. It is located next to the capital of Ecuador, and from this monument a line leaves that schematically depicts the equator. Schematically, because the equator itself is located almost 250 meters north, passing through the building of the Museum of the Sun.
The line of the equator itself passes perpendicularly (if we take into account the axis of rotation of the planet), and its main feature is to be at the same distance from the points of the poles.
At the same time, it differs in that it crosses all the oceans (excluding the northern ones), and the duration of the day and night at the equator coincides, regardless of the time of year.
It is interesting that the only active volcano is located on the equator on the territory of Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, Vulcan Wolf which was erupted not so long ago (the last time this happened seven years ago).
The position of the equator
It is the equator that is the only line of the planet that can be considered an ideal huge circle. Everything is due to the fact that any circle depicted on a ball (well, or spheroid this is exactly the figure of a planet), with the base that includes the center of this ball. All other lines relative to latitude both to the north and south cannot be called circles, since they gradually narrow depending on the degree of approaching poles, and are not related to the base of the planet. T.e. Such parallels are also a circumference, but since they have a flattened shape just like the entire planet their circumference in length does not coincide with the equator.
It is interesting that at the equator (just like on the territory near it), daylight occurs directly above the head (with an indicator not exceeding 25 degrees relative to zenith), and daily for a whole year.
If we take into account the days of the equinox (autumn in September and Spring in March), then these days is the sunflower point, t.e. The moment when the sun stands right above the head, crosses the equator at a tiny angle, which means that sunlight at all latitudes of the equator will continue for 24 hours day and night, since sunlight falls at that moment in the perpendicular direction of the axis rotation of the planet. At this moment, objects do not discard the shadows, and if we take into account the wellknown law of Baer regarding the rotation of the water funnel, then to the north and south of the equator line its direction is the opposite.
The length of the equator
One of the main and essential metric characteristics of the Earth in geography is the length of the equator: this indicator is customary to use for the process of calculation in geography and geodesy, as well as in astrology.
Since the Earth is not an ideal sphere in the form of a ball, but an ellipse that is slightly flattened at the point of the poles and significantly arched in the equator (which is associated with the effect of gravity and the rotation process), its size on the equator exceeds the indicators of the polar diameter by 42.7 kilometers and amounts to 12.713.5 km.
Equator length 40,000 km
As well as the diameter of the planet, its circle is also a slightly stretched in the equator area again due to the same equatorial bulge. So, the size of the circle at the poles is 40008 km, while at the equator this figure is 40075 km.
Among other things, due to an intertwined ellipsoidal shape, the linear speed of rotation of the planet in the equator is more significant than in any other area. This is due just to the size of the circle of the Earth on the equator: in 24 hours the planet just manages to make a full revolution around the axis. And to determine the linear speed of rotation, it is enough to divide the circle by 24 hours, and as a result it turns out almost 2 thousand kilometers per hour. And when driving in the northern or southern direction, the size of the circle reduces, which, of course, makes the linear speed of the planet’s rotation.
It should be noted that since the earth is not perfect, the radius at certain points may also differ: if the radius at the equator is 6378, then it is 6356 km at the poles.
It is for this reason that for calculating the long equator the radius of the circle is usually considered to be 6371 km.
Climate at the equator
The equator line is significantly different from any other point of the planet due to both a special physical environment and geographical status. And the climate is one of the most significant of such differences.
The equator is characterized by exactly the same climatic models throughout the year, and among them, warm (wet or arid) conditions usually have the dominant significance. Most of the equator line differs in the presence of a high level of humidity, which is directly related to the fact that it is the equator region that is one of the territories that receives the most significant level of sunlight.
The level of solar energy and light is gradually reduced as it moves away from the equator (independently, in the north or in the southern one), this process provides acceptable conditions for the further formation of a variety of climatic forms. The tropical climate in the equator can be recognized as one of the most diverse: both flora and fauna are very diverse.
But the climate on the equator can be varied: for example, its highest point is on a single glacier on this line at an altitude of 4690 meters (Ecuador, a camel volcano).
What countries are located on the equator
The equator line, in addition to dense tropical regions, crosses the territory of land and water space of 14 states. In addition to Ecuador, this line crosses the territory of several countries: Congo, San Tome, Gabon, Uganda, Somalia, the Maldives, Kenya, Indonesia, Colombia and Brazil and others. Many of these states are small and sparsely populated, but many (such as Brazil, Ecuador) have a high indicator of the population and the largest cities on the equator line. So, the capital of Ecuador is located very close to the equator literally at a distance of 1 kilometer, and it is there that a museum and a monument regarding the equator are located.
Maldives
On the equator line there are several more cities in Brazil (PACAPA), Ecuador (Kito), Kenya, Indonesia, Congo and Uganda (capital Campala).
The equator line also crosses more than three dozen islands: among them the islands of Indonesia (17 islands, including the islands in the lake on Kalimantan), several at the mouth of the Amazon (9 islands), and 5 directly in Lake Victoria in Africa in Africa.
Somalia
Equator oceans
The equator line crosses several continents these are Africa and South America, and among the oceans located within its territory, three main ones can be distinguished Atlantic, Pacific and, of course, Indian.
The equator line passes across the zero meridian through the Atlantic Ocean, where it affects the area of the territorial seas of the equatorial Guinea, San Tome, then passes through the regions of the African continent through the territory of small Congo, Uganda, Somali and Kenya. Then this line passes through the Indian Ocean, affecting the territorial seas in the Maldives and Indonesia.
If we talk about the Pacific Ocean, then here the equator line is the border between several territorial seas:
Why do you need an equator
The equator line, first of all, performs the function of dividing the planet into two hemispheres northern and southern, providing the starting point of the reference of such an important concept as geographical latitude: it is the equator that is taken for zero latitude, and the line itself provides the possibility of orientation in the climatic zones of the planet.
If we talk about the emergency territory, it is it that receives the maximum amount of solar energy and rays, and the farther the planet area is located from the equatorial territories, and the closer they are relative to the poles, the smaller the amount of sunlight they receive, which is the fundamental condition for the formation of climate On these lands.
The equator line on the maps provides an opportunity for scientists to produce the necessary calculations, setting the exact location of objects and points due to orientation to climatic zones.
