Geography Quiz: Countries on the Equator and the Tropics

The Equator crosses Colombia in South America, Kenya in East Africa and the islands of Indonesia in South East Asia, so all three names in this group are correct.

Europe lies entirely north of the Tropic of Cancer, its southernmost points being above 34 degrees north, and Antarctica lies far south of the Tropic of Capricorn, beyond the Antarctic Circle, so neither continent is touched by any of the three lines.

On these two dates the noon sun is vertically overhead at the Equator, the circle of illumination passes through both poles, and day and night are of nearly equal length everywhere on the earth; 21 March is the spring or vernal equinox and 23 September the autumnal equinox.

From west to east the Tropic of Cancer passes through Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram, which is why the line is said to divide India almost into two halves.

Brazil is so large in north to south extent that the Equator crosses its northern part near the mouth of the Amazon while the Tropic of Capricorn crosses its south, close to Sao Paulo, making it the only country in the world cut by both lines.

Ethiopia lies wholly north of the Equator, roughly between 3 and 15 degrees north, and its capital Addis Ababa is about 9 degrees north, so the line misses it, although the country is tropical and highland in character.

The Tropic of Capricorn crosses Australia through Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland, passing close to the town of Rockhampton, and Australia is the only country of Oceania on this line.

Because the earth's axis is tilted by about 23 and a half degrees, the northern hemisphere is turned most towards the sun on 21 June, the summer solstice, when the noon sun stands vertically above the Tropic of Cancer and the northern hemisphere has its longest day.

The name Ecuador is the Spanish word for the equator, the line crosses the north of the country, and its capital Quito stands only a few kilometres south of it in the Andes, which makes Quito the large capital city closest to the Equator.

It is the only belt in which the noon sun can be vertically overhead at some time of the year, so it receives the most direct insolation and has the highest average temperatures.

Odisha lies between about 17 and 22 degrees north, so it stays just south of the Tropic of Cancer, which is the reason it is the most common wrong choice in this question.