Ilhéu das Rolas

Ilhéu das Rolas (also: Ilheu Gago Coutinho) is an islet in the African island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe.

It lies on the Equator, off the southern tip of São Tomé Island, separated by Canal das Rolas.

There is a lighthouse on the islet, built in 1929,[3] whose focal height is 106 metres (348 ft) and range is 12 nmi (22 km; 14 mi).

[7] Gago Coutinho (1869–1959), officer of the Portuguese Navy, navigator and historian, headed a geodesic mission to São Tomé between 1915 and 1918, when marks were placed as a basis for a geodetic network in the archipelago.

The resulting map was published in 1919, together with the Report of the Geodetic Mission on São Tomé Island 1915–1918, that was officially considered the first complete work of practical geodesy in the Portuguese colonies.

Ilhéu das Rolas with the view of nearby São Tomé
A monument that shows the equator marked as it crosses Ilhéu das Rolas. The shadow points SW, indicating that the sun is several degrees north; likely late April or early August, about 1-2 hours before noon.