The analysis of 37 Equator-S magnetopause crossings with exceptionally smooth profiles in magnetic field magnitude is presented. The crossings are distributed through 10 orbits and occur under both northward and southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions. Under northward IMF, when subsolar reconnection is not believed to occur, the ramp and the field rotation generally overlap. In all 17 cases with a southward magnetosheath field, the field rotation to a northward direction lies sunward of the start of the ramp in field magnitude. Of these cases, five show a field magnitude dip during the field rotation, with shorter field rotations tending to be associated with deeper minima. We suggest that this characteristic of some of the crossings under southward IMF might reflect the distance of the crossing from a reconnection site. Field maxima sometimes appear just inside the magnetopause, but the occurrence of these features is not confined to those crossings showing field minima in the magnetosheath. Examination of the field rotation shows that the rotation is rarely circularly polarized, even when a field magnitude minimum is absent. Comparison with recent two-dimensional hybrid models shows good qualitative agreement. ¿ 2001 American Geophysical Union