Fun facts about the equator

A list of the most interesting facts about Ecuador we learnt during our time there. What is Ecuador famous for? Here are the most interesting facts about Ecuador we picked up on our journey through its lands and seas. The national tree of Ecuador is the cinchona tree which produces Quinine, the first drug used to prevent and treat malaria.

Spaniards and Portuguese made up the vast majority of the sailors, but the voyage also included mariners from Greece, Sicily, England, France, Germany and even North Africa. Magellan originally launched his expedition as a means of finding a western route to the Moluccas, a small archipelago in Indonesia known for its stores of precious spices like cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. This agreement placed the more practical eastern route to the Spice Islands under Portuguese control, forcing the Spanish to find a new passage by sailing west around South America. The first of these failed revolts was easily unraveled, but the second proved more elaborate. Magellan and his supporters ultimately thwarted the revolt, and he even marooned two men on an island when he found they were planning a third mutiny. The rebellions continued later that year when the vessel San Antonio deserted the fleet and prematurely returned to Spain.

A meridian is a north-south line, selected as the zero reference line for astronomical observations. By comparing thousands of observations taken from the same meridian it's possible to build up an accurate map of the sky. There were two main reasons for the choice. The first was the fact that the USA had already chosen Greenwich as the basis for its own national time zone system. Therefore the Prime Meridian at Greenwich became the centre of world time.

The earth is divided into imaginary lines called longitude and latitude. This system of lines was created so travelers could pinpoint exact locations all over the world. Latitude lines run horizontally, and longitude lines are vertical. Coordinates mark where longitude and latitude lines intersect, and they are measured in degrees.