Application of the skewness method to 14 marine magnetic anomaly profiles across the Galapagos ridge provides a precise estimate of the equatorial contribution of the long-term non-dipole field. The average inclination anomaly (observed remanent inclination minus dipole inclination) so determined from the central anomaly over the Galapagos ridge is -3.3¿¿0.9¿. This result agrees closely with estimates of the non-dipole field contribution at equatorial latitudes as predicted from prior paleomagnetic studies. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1988