N 00° 00.000′ W 078° 10.500′ —
Aptly named, Ecuador straddles the equator where the southern and northern hemispheres meet. Exactly at latitude N 00° 00.000′, the Quitsato Sundial was the first monument of the Equator in the history of the Republic of Ecuador.
The location features a 54 meter diameter platform embellished with a mosaic of river stones. The different shades of rock create an eight-pointed star, also known as a compass rose that indicates solstices and equinoxes.
At the center of the platform stands a giant 10-meter high sundial that can be used to tell time. This platform is also used to explain the albedo effect when the darker stones create higher temperatures from the absorption of sunlight. The cache takes you to a viewpoint to relax and absorb all this celestial knowledge.
