🧭 Where Is the Equator?
3rd Grade 🌍 Geography
The equator is an imaginary line around the middle of Earth, halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole.
An imaginary belt
You can’t see the equator on the ground, but it is drawn on maps and globes. It divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. Its latitude is 0°.
Where it goes
The equator crosses South America (Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil), Africa (Gabon, the Congo region, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia) and islands of Indonesia. Ecuador is even named after it — ecuador is Spanish for equator!
Hot all year
Places near the equator get strong sunshine all year, so they stay warm and don’t have a real winter. Many rainforests grow there.
Quick quiz
What is the latitude of the equator?
Which country is named after the equator?
What does the equator divide Earth into?