Everybody knows about this imaginary line on the Earth’s surface that lies equidistant from the North Pole and the South Pole. Almost half the world’s rainforests are concentrated on the equator, and, naturally, it serves as the world’s greatest concentration of natural biodiversity. From its seasons to its people, the equatorial region is a unique and fascinating place.
What Is the Equator?
An invisible line that runs around the centre of the Earth at zero degrees latitude, the Equator may not seem like the most exciting line of topic. Halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole, the equator divides the planet into the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. This roughly 40,075-kilometre line is where the Earth is at its widest. Some 78.8 percent of the equator lies across water, with the remaining 21.3 percent over land, and it crosses 13 countries over three continents – Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, São Tomé and Príncipe, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Maldives, Indonesia, and Kiribati. Indonesia sits on the greatest length of the equatorial line across both land and sea.
It seems like things are starting to get a little interesting now.
The Earth bulges slightly at the equator, which means that sea levels are slightly higher in equatorial regions than near the poles, and the Earth’s gravitational pull is slightly weaker at the equator.
Denne historien er fra AG 04/2020 143-utgaven av ASIAN Geographic.
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Denne historien er fra AG 04/2020 143-utgaven av ASIAN Geographic.
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Revealed Doctor Yellow
Japan Railways' special lemony Shinkansen is a rare sight to behold
The Mighty Yellow
Over 5,000 kilometres long and flowing through nine provinces and autonomous regions, the Yellow River is China's second largest, after the Yangtze, while its basin is deemed the cradle of Chinese civilisation
Wildlife Big Yellow Beauty
The popular "amelanistic" form of the Burmese python is considered among the most beautiful snakes - if that's your sort of thing
All That Glitters Is Gold
From Turkey to China, the yellow metal plays a central role in cultural practices and is coveted as a symbol of affluence and status
Chengdu Hotel Spotlight TRIKA TSANG INTERNATIONAL HOTEL
For an authentic taste of Tibet in the heart of Chengdu, the most luxurious option is the majestic Trika Tsang International Hotel.
Conservation Yellow in Peril
While the demand for use in traditional Chinese medicine is putting seahorses under pressure, it is damaging non-selective fishing that is driving depletion
History Spiritual Rebirth
During the Spanish Golden Age, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan achieved the first European navigation to Asia via the Pacific, arriving in the Philippines in 1521 and claiming the islands for Spain. But by converting the first Filipinos to Catholicism, Magellan also instigated the Christianisation of the entire archipelago, a spiritual rebirth celebrated through the two most important festivals in the Philippines - Fiesta Señor and Sinulog.
Green Dreams
With its tea plantations and rice paddies, dense jungles and expansive forests, the region is well known as a green paradise. But many of the most impressive Asian landscapes have names you may never have heard of. Journey with us as we reveal just some of the incredible locations that make the rest of the world green with envy!
Life On The Edge
In the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, in the remote northern Russian Far East, indigenous ethnic groups like the Chukchi and the Yupik live in the most extreme conditions, hunting seals in their traditional kayaks as they have for millennia
The Karakoram Anomaly Decoded
For decades, scientists have believed that glaciers in the Karakoram Range are defying the trend of those across the globe-resisting glacial melt due to human-induced global warming. But as we trek up the Karakoram's second-longest glacier in July, as the United Nations announces the world's hottest ever month on record, does the melting ice beneath our feet suggest the so-called Karakoram Anomaly is slowing? Or is there a ray of hope it will continue to delay the inevitable?
