Hemispheres of Earth

In geography and cartography, hemispheres of Earth are any division of the globe into two equal halves (hemispheres), typically divided into northern and southern halves by the Equator and into western and eastern halves by the Prime meridian. Hemispheres can be divided geographically or culturally, or based on religion or prominent geographic features. Use of these divisions is applied when studying Earth's geographic distribution, cultural differences, and other geographic, demographic and socioeconomic features.

Geographical hemispheres

Geographical hemispheres are primarily split by latitudinal (north-south) and longitudinal (east-west) markers:

North-South

East-West

Alternative hemispheres

Alternative Earth hemispheres can divide the globe along cultural or religious lines, or be used to maximize the prominence of geographic features. For example:

Cultural and religious hemispheres

Geographical feature-based hemispheres

Land-water hemispheres

Alternative hemisphere schemes can divide the planet in a way that maximizes the prominence of one geographic feature or another in each division, such as the land-water division:

• Land Hemisphere: Centered near 47°N, 1°E, near the city of Nantes, France, this hemisphere contains the largest possible area of land, including most of the world's continents and major landmasses.
• Water Hemisphere: Centered near 47°S, 179°W, in the South Pacific Ocean (southwest of the Chatham Islands, New Zealand), this hemisphere contains the largest possible area of water, including most of the Indian, Pacific, and Southern Oceans.

Continents and oceans by predominant hemisphere

See also

• Earth's geographical centre
• Global North and Global South
• Land and water hemispheres
• East–West dichotomy

References

External links