Photo Gallery

The striking Mitad del Mundo monument (Centre of the World) in San Antonio de Pichincha, near Quito, Ecuador, is a stone monolith approximately 30 metres high, crowned by a large globe, which marks the equator. The monument stands about 23 kilometres north of Quito and commemorates the historic French geodetic expedition of 1736 led by Charles Marie de La Condamine. – 1977

The Mitad del Mundo monument. The trapezium-shaped tower, built of hewn stone, has its sides pointing exactly in the four cardinal directions, whilst the sphere mounted on top is encircled by a metal equatorial ring. Recent precise GPS measurements have shown that the actual equator lies some 240 metres further south. – 1977