Monumento a la Mitad del Mundo

Quito is Ecuador's capital, perched at 2,850 meters in the Andes and home to the Monumento a la Mitad del Mundo — the iconic equator monument marking latitude 0°0′0″. Built in 1982 at the site where the 18th-century French Geodesic Mission first measured the equatorial line, the 30-meter trapezoidal tower is crowned by a globe and has become one of South America's most visited landmarks. Standing at the literal center of the Earth, it symbolizes Ecuador's unique geographic identity and the scientific heritage that gave the country its name.