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Which line of latitude passes through Ecuador, Kenya and Indonesia?

Answer

The Equator

The equator is the circle midway between the poles, the zero line from which latitude is measured, and it crosses South America, Africa and the Indonesian archipelago on its way around the globe. Being on it has real consequences rather than just symbolic ones. Day length barely varies through the year, so there is no long summer evening and no dark winter afternoon; the sun passes directly overhead twice a year; and the seasons are marked by wet and dry periods rather than by temperature. The rising air along this belt produces the heavy convectional rainfall that sustains the world's great rainforests, and the near-absence of the Coriolis effect at the line means tropical cyclones essentially never form there. It is also the fastest-spinning part of the Earth's surface, which is why rocket launch sites are placed as close to it as practical to borrow that extra velocity.

Because the Earth bulges at the equator, the summit of Ecuador's Chimborazo is the point on the surface farthest from the planet's centre.

Why the other answers are wrong

  • The Tropic of Cancer. The Tropic of Cancer runs well to the north, crossing Mexico, the Sahara, Arabia, India and southern China.
  • The Tropic of Capricorn. The Tropic of Capricorn lies in the southern hemisphere, through Brazil, Namibia, Botswana and Australia.
  • The Arctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the far northern limit of the midnight sun, nowhere near any of the three countries listed.

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