The Equator Monument ( id, Tugu Khatulistiwa) is located on the

equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...

in Pontianak,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. It marks the division between the

northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

and southern hemispheres.

History

*First monument built in 1928 by a Dutch geographer. *1930 completed, in form of

bollard A bollard is a sturdy, short, vertical post. The term originally referred to a post on a ship or quay used principally for mooring boats. It now also refers to posts installed to control road traffic and posts designed to prevent automotive v ...

radially and dart. *1938 rebuilt with completion by architect

Friedrich Silaban Friedrich Silaban (16 December 1912 – 14 May 1984) was an Indonesian architect. His most well-known designs, such as the Istiqlal Mosque and the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, were commissioned during the presidency of Sukarno. Silaban ...

. The original monument is still visible in the interior. *1990 renovated with the addition of a

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

to protect the original monument and also making of duplicate of monument of the size five times bigger than its original size. * Its grand opening on September 21, 1991.

Construction

The monument consists of four

ironwood Ironwood is a common name for many woods or plants that have a reputation for hardness, or specifically a wood density that is heavier than water (approximately 1000 kg/m3, or 62 pounds per cubic foot), although usage of the name ironwood in E ...

poles, each with a diameter of about 0,30 metres, with frontage

height is two pieces as high as 3,05 radian place backside bollard and the signpost dart as high as 4,40 metres.

Location

Its location is in ''Jalan Khatulistiwa,'' literally translated into ''Equator Road'',

North Pontianak North Pontianak (''Indonesian: Pontianak Utara'') is a district (''Indonesian'':''kecamatan'') of the city of Pontianak. It lies on the north bank of the Kapuas Besar River (west of the confluence to between the Kapuas Kecil River and the Landak Ri ...

, about 3 kilometres from the city centre of Pontianak. The equator monument is not on the equator any more. Land masses are affected by

plate tectonics Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large ...

, and Earth's equator itself moves due to the

precession of the equinoxes In astronomy, axial precession is a gravity-induced, slow, and continuous change in the orientation of an astronomical body's rotational axis. In the absence of precession, the astronomical body's orbit would show axial parallelism. In particu ...

and nutation. The equator has moved slightly southwards and there is another line outside the monument, that shows the recorded position in 2005. The position of the equator in 2010 is even further south and now is in a river, as a GPS device can confirm. {{DEFAULTSORT:Equator monument Buildings and structures in Pontianak Tourist attractions in West Kalimantan Monuments and memorials in Indonesia Buildings and structures completed in 1930 Equator monuments 1930 establishments in the Dutch East Indies