Seaside Sundial, Funchal, Madeira
Posted by: 
arby101ca
N 32° 38.800 W 016° 54.565
28S E 320908 N 3613728
On the seaside promenade of Funchal, Madeira is a sundial laid out in the paving stones.
Waymark Code: WMA1FC
Location: Arquipélago da Madeira, Portugal
Date Posted: 10/31/2010
Views: 27
This sundial has a circle 10 m in diameter marked out in even hours around to 24. Inside is a smaller elipse tangent to the circle at noon. This needs further analysis and explaination. The dial shows local solar time. Declination lines for the solstices show the active area of the sundial. But there is no gnomon! No shadows! A flat sundial met the required approvals. A gnomon set at 32.5 degrees must have been deemed a hazard on the promenade.
This is the first sundial I have found in Madeira. As in mainland Portugal there are many armillary spheres but few sundials. I will keep searching during our visit.