The equator is a large, imaginary circle that people imagine as being drawn around the Earth equidistant from the North and South pole. It forms the base from which latitude is calculated, with a designation of 0°. It is about 24,902 miles (40,076 km) in length, and intersects the continents of South America and Africa, and also passes through Indonesia. West of Africa, it passes through Sao Tome & Principe.
In Africa, the equator cuts through close to the center of the continent, north to south. It crosses Gabon near the capital, Libreville, about one third of the way through the country from the northernmost border. The line also runs through Republic of the Congo, with a similar division of territory to that in Gabon.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it passes south of Kisangani, with approximately a quarter of the length of the country to its north. In Uganda, the equator passes very near Kampala, the capital. It passes north of Nairobi in Kenya, which it splits nearly in halves, and then through the very southern end of Somalia. The line also passes through the Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean.
The equator passes through South America near the northern end of the continent. It passes just north of Quito in Ecuador, separates Colombia into about three quarters to the north and one third to the south, and then crosses the top of Brazil, passing through Macapá.
The line crosses several of the islands of Indonesia in the Malay archipelago. It divides Sumatra about in half and then passes through the Lingga or Linga Islands. The equator runs through the Indonesian portion of Borneo, known as Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and the Moluccas. To the east, it also passes through the Republic of Kiribati, also known as part of the Line Islands or Equatorial Islands. Equatorial Guinea and its islands, despite its name, is actually located about 3° N.
