La Mitad del Mundo

Samantha Johnson

La Mitad del Mundo translates to “half the world” or “the equator”

• Location: Quito, Ecuador• It is on the Equatorial Line of Latitude• It was constructed on the equator• La Mitad del Mundo stands in both

the north and south hemispheres

• La Mitad del Mundo has one main monument and many smaller ones that lead to it.

• Around the monument is a small village, including homes and a church, and a museum

This is the church around la Mitad del Mundo. You are allowed to climb to the top to get a look at the wonderful view.

Although the equator passes through other countries and places, this is the only one named for it, “la República de Ecuador”

La Mitad del Mundo’s History

• In 1736, in South America, the equator was mapped out by a French man named Charles-Marie de La Comdamine

• They were about 250 meters off the mark where the equator actually is

• The monument was built on his measurement anyway

Inti Nan, the museum at la Mitad del Mundo has many experiments that show the differences between the actual equator and the one marked by Charles-Marie de La Comdamine, but they are supposedly staged. Either staged or not, about five minutes down a dirt road near la Mitad del Mundo, is the equator marked by the global positioning system.

La Mitad del Mundo Now

• La Mitad del Mundo has undergone many renovations• One of the renovations was to

include restrooms for its visitors.

• Now La Mitad del Mundo is mainly a tourist attraction. Many tourists want to go there because they can be in two places at once, (the northern and southern hemisphere).

Works Cited"inti nan." about.com. 23 Jun. 2010. <http://gosouthamerica.about.com/b/2007/10/29/la-

mitad-del-mundo-and-inti-nan-museum-at-ecuadors-equator.htm>.

"mitad del mundo." eb.com. 22 Jun. 2010. <"inti nan." about.com. 23 Jun. 2010. .>.

"mitad del mundo." equador.com.<http://www.ecuador.com/sights/mitad-del-mundo/>.

"mitad del mundo." wordpress.com. 23 Jun. 2010. <http://raytang1.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/mitad-mundo.jpg>.

"quito." in-quito.com. 23 Jun. 2010. <http://www.in-quito.com/pictures/mitad-mundo.htm>.