Equatorial Monument

In 1736 a French geodesic mission came to Ecuador to work out the position of the Equator here. Geodesics Avenue near the entrance to the Equator complex, has 13 stone busts representing the mission members.

The Ciudad Mitad del Mundo (city of the Middle of the World) is a cultural and commercial centre which takes in the Equator monument itself which was built in 1979, and is a copy of the original one which was here for 43 yrs. It is 30m high with a metallic sphere at the top representing Earth. A gold line represents the Equator, and this line is also marks the ground so that you can stand with one foot in the northern hemisphere and one in the south. The location of the monument is a pre-Incan site of sun worship.

There is also an excellent ethnographic museum here.