Which of the following countries lies along the equator?
Considering Panama, the Philippines, India and Columbia, the answer is: Columbia.
There are 13 countries that intersect with the equator, with three in South America, including Colombia. While the equator divides the Earth into equal halves, it doesn't equally divide the land on Earth. Only about a third of the land in the world is situated in the Southern Hemisphere.
Due to its year-round warm temperatures and natural landscape, Columbia is the second-most biodiverse country in the world. It has the highest amount of species by area in the world, including more species of birds than all of Europe and North America combined. Columbia is also the only country in South America that has coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean sea. From its deserts to rainforests to wide-open savannahs, almost every kind of organism can thrive in Columbia.
Columbia is also known for its exportation of coffee. In fact, Colombia is the third-largest exporter of coffee in the world after Brazil and Vietnam, as well as the highest exporter of the arabica bean. In 2011, UNESCO declared the “Coffee Cultural Landscape” of Colombia a World Heritage site. Colombia's ability to produce such excellent coffee is due to the country's geography and warm climate— nearly perfect conditions for growing coffee.
Did you know?
Columbia has a "rainbow river!" The Cano Cristales – also called the “River of Five Colors” or the “Liquid Rainbow” — is located in the Serrania de la Macarena province of Meta. The river’s bed changes color between yellow, green, blue, black, and especially red, beginning the end of July and through November due to the blooming of an aquatic plant.