Ciudad Mitad del Mundo
Ciudad Mitad del Mundo | |
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Pichincha | |
Status | Open all year |
The Ciudad Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World City) is a tract of land owned by the prefecture of the province of
The 30-metre-tall (98 ft) monument was constructed between 1979 and 1982 by Architect and Contractor Alfredo Fabián Páez with Carlos Mancheno President of Pichincha's Province Council to replace an older, smaller monument built by the Government of Ecuador under the direction of the geographer Luis Tufiño in 1936.
The
The French Geodesic Mission
The placement of the equatorial line was defined throughout a 1736 expedition called the
In 1935, the Ecuadorean Government built a ten-metre-high (33 ft) monument to honor the French expedition under the guidance of local geographer Luis Gudiño. In 1972, that monument was replaced by a thirty-metre-high (98 ft) monument titled “Ciudad Mitad del Mundo” (Middle of the World City)).[citation needed]
Latitude discrepancy
Based on data obtained by Tufiño, it was believed that the equator passed through those two sites. However, according to readings based on the
Over the years, countless tourists have had their pictures taken straddling the line drawn down the center of the east-facing staircase and across the plaza.
The pyramidal monument, with each side facing a cardinal direction is topped by a globe which is 4.5 metres (15 ft) in diameter and weighs 5 tonnes (4.9 long tons; 5.5 short tons). Inside the monument is a small museum that displays a variety of indigenous items pertaining to Ecuadorian culture: clothing, descriptions of the various ethnic groups, and examples of their activities.
Ciudad Mitad del Mundo contains other attractions such as a planetarium, a miniature model of Quito, and restaurants. On weekends, Ciudad Mitad del Mundo's Central Plaza hosts varied musical and cultural events for tourists. Also, there are diverse local handcraft stores and local food served at several cafés along a colonial small town.
Intiñan Solar Museum
200 metres (660 ft) northeast of the Ethnographic Museum Monument is a local private attraction, known as the Intiñan Solar Museum, reportedly built to mark the Equator, although modern measurements suggest that it no longer does.[9]
Except for the exhibitions of Ecuadoran culture, the museum is an amusement for credulous tourists. The museum professes to be a destination for natural science tourism.[10] Tour guides and visitors demonstrate tricks which are supposedly possible only on the Equator, such as water flowing both counter-clockwise or clockwise down a drain due to Coriolis effect.[11] However, the Coriolis force has no effect on the apparent direction of draining water in household drains anywhere on Earth, as this is too small of a scale of motion to be affected by the larger-scale force.[10] Another apparent trick performed here is balancing eggs on end.[12] This is purportedly easier at the equator due to the claim of a relative maximum in the magnetic field at the equator. However, attempts to balance eggs work just as well anywhere else on Earth, and are not influenced by magnetism or the Coriolis force.[10] Also, there is an apparent weakening of muscles due to low latitude.[13] This is also linked to the claim that certain physical forces, including the Coriolis force, are significantly weakened at the equator. Many of the demonstrations and associated claims made among tour guides are inconsistent with each other.[10] Some tour guides will admit the truth that proximity to the equator has no measurable influence on these demonstrations.[14][15]
References
- ISBN 997880029-8.
- ^ Lafuente, Mazuecos, Antonio (1992). Los Caballeros del Punto Fijo. Abya-Yala. p. 70.
- ISBN 997880029-8.
- ^ "Llega Alí Rodríguez a Ecuador para asumir Secretaría General de Unasur". Spanish People Daily. 14 June 2012. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
- ^ "Darle utilidad al edificio de la Unasur entre los planes del Ministerio de Cultura". 3 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
- ^ Cobo, Cristóbal (2004). "El sitio arqueológico Sobre el Monte Catequilla en la Latitud Cero". Memorias del Simposio ARQ-13 del 51 Congreso Internacional de Americanistas (in Spanish). Chile: Pereira editores.
- ^ Awake!. "Nahua/Maya Number system AMAZING DISCOVERIES at EARTH'S EQUATOR". Archived from the original on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
- ^ Instituto Geográfico Militar de Ecuador (24 January 2005). "Memoria Técnica de la Determinación de la Latitud Cero" (in Spanish).
- ^ "12/12: Mitos de la Mitad del Mundo". Archived from the original on 2017-04-30. Retrieved 2012-06-27.
- ^ a b c d Palmer, Rob (2020-01-08). "Ecuadorian Equatorial Pseudoscience". skepticalinquirer.org. Skeptical Inquirer. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ^ Mikkelson, Barbara. "Flush Bosh".
- ^ Helmenstine, Anne Marie Ph. D. "Can You Balance an Egg on the Equinox?". about.com Chemistry Section. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
- ^ "Why did my muscles turn to jello on the Equator?". Retrieved 11 January 2007.
- ^ Penn State University, "Bad Coriolis"
- ^ Bad Astronomy, "Stand an egg on end"
External links
- http://www.mitaddelmundo.com/ Archived 2012-07-12 at the Wayback Machine Ciudad Mitad del Mundo official site.
- http://www.cotopaxitours.com/ Archived 2018-08-21 at the Wayback Machine Tours a la mitad del mundo.
- http://www.museointinan.com.ec/ Intiñan Solar Museum Site.