geographical
Geography (from Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece
Greece ( el, Ελλάδα, , ), officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country located in Southeast Europe. Its population is approximately 10. ...
term for the half of Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbour and support life. 29.2% of Earth's surface is land consisting of continents and islands. The remaining 70.8% is Water distribution on Earth, covered wi ...
which is east of the prime meridian #REDIRECT Prime meridian#REDIRECT Prime meridian
A prime meridian is the meridian (geography), meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meri ...
(which crosses Greenwich
Greenwich ( , , , or ) is a town in south-east
The points of the compass are the Euclidean vector, vectors by which planet-based directions are conventionally defined. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...
, London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has b ...
, United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain,Usage is mixed. The Guardian' and Telegraph' use Britain as a synonym for the United Kingdom. Some prefer to use Britain as shorth ...
) and west of the antimeridian
The International Date Line zigzags around the 180th Meridian.
The 180th meridian or antimeridian is the meridian 180° both east and west of the Prime Meridian
A prime meridian is the meridian (geography), meridian (a line of longitude) i ...
(which crosses the Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south and is bounded by the continents o ...
and relatively little land from pole to pole). It is also used to refer to Afro-Eurasia
Afro-Eurasia (or Afroeurasia, Field, Henry.The University of California African Expedition: I, Egypt, ''American Anthropologist,'' New Series Vol. 50, No. 3, Part 1 (Jul. - Sep., 1948), pp. 479-493. or Eurafrasia), nicknamed the World Island, ...
(Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area and 20% of i ...
and Eurasia
Eurasia () is the largest continent
A continent is any of several large landmass
A landmass, or land mass, is a large region
In geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia'', literally "earth description") is a ...
) and Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, in contrast with the Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere is the half of Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbour and support life. 29.2% of Earth's surface is land consisting of continents and islands. The remaining ...
, which includes mainly North
North is one of the four compass points
The points of the compass are the vectors by which planet
A planet is an astronomical body orbiting a star or Stellar evolution#Stellar remnants, stellar remnant that is massive enough to be Hydro ...
and South America
South America is a continent
A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continent ...
. The Eastern Hemisphere may also be called the "Oriental Hemisphere." In addition, it may be used in a cultural
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior
Social behavior is behavior among two or more organisms within the same species, and encompasses any behavior in which one member affects the other. This is due to an int ...
or geopolitical
Geopolitics (from Greek#REDIRECT Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece
Greece ( el, Ελλάδα, , ), officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country located in Southeast Europe. Its population is approxi ...
sense as a synonym for the "Old World
The Old World consists of Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous , after in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of 's total su ...
."
Geography
The almost perfect circle (the earth is anoblate spheroid
A spheroid, also known as an ellipsoid of revolution or rotational ellipsoid, is a quadric
In mathematics, a quadric or quadric surface (quadric hypersurface in higher dimension
thumb
, 236px
, The first four spatial dimensions, repres ...
that is fatter around the equator), drawn with a line, demarcating the Eastern and Western Hemispheres must be an arbitrarily decided and published convention, unlike the Equator
The Equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the N ...
(an imaginary line encircling Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbour and support life. 29.2% of Earth's surface is land consisting of continents and islands. The remaining 70.8% is Water distribution on Earth, covered wi ...
, equidistant from its poles
The Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a nation
A nation is a community
A community is a social unitThe term "level of analysis" is used in the social sciences to point to the loc ...
), which divides the and 
Southern
The name Southern may refer to:
* South
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. South is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to the east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earl ...
Hemispheres. The prime meridian #REDIRECT Prime meridian#REDIRECT Prime meridian
A prime meridian is the meridian (geography), meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meri ...
at 0° longitude
Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate
A geographic coordinate system (GCS) is a coordinate system associated with position (geometry), positions on Earth (geographic position). A GCS can give positions:
*as Geodetic coordinates, ...
and the antimeridian
The International Date Line zigzags around the 180th Meridian.
The 180th meridian or antimeridian is the meridian 180° both east and west of the Prime Meridian
A prime meridian is the meridian (geography), meridian (a line of longitude) i ...
, at 180° longitude, are the conventionally accepted boundaries, since they divide eastern longitudes from western longitudes. This convention was established in 1884 at the International Meridian Conference
The International Meridian Conference was a conference held in October 1884 in Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Mem ...
held in Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk within the National Mall
The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped ...
where the standard time
Standard time is the synchronization of clock
A clock or a timepiece is a device used to Measurement, measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest Invention, human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time ...
concepts of Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada
Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the At ...
railroad engineer Sir Sandford Fleming
Sir Sandford Fleming (January 7, 1827 – July 22, 1915) was a Scottish Canadian engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are Professional, professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test Machine, machines, ...
were adopted. The Hemispheres agreed do not correspond with exact continents. Portions of Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe
Europe is a continent
A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical r ...
, West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 17 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania ...
, Oceania
Oceania (, , ) is a geographic region
In geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia'', literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of the Eart ...
, and extreme northeastern Russia
Russia ( rus, link=no, Россия, Rossiya, ), or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern region of . There is no consistent definition of the precise area it covers, partly because th ...
are in the Western Hemisphere, divorcing it from the continents which form the touchstone for most geopolitical constructs of "the East" and "the West".
Consequently, the meridians of 20°W and the diametrically opposed 160°E are often used outside of matters of physics and navigation, which includes all of the European and African mainlands, but also includes a small portion of northeast Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an autonomous territory
An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administra ...
(typically reckoned as part of North America
North America is a continent
A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continen ...
) and excludes more of eastern Russia and Oceania (e.g., New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa
''Aotearoa'' (; commonly pronounced by English
English usually refers to:
* English language
English is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language first spoken in History of Anglo-Saxon Engl ...
). Prior to the global adoption of standard time, numerous prime meridian #REDIRECT Prime meridian#REDIRECT Prime meridian
A prime meridian is the meridian (geography), meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meri ...
s were decreed by various countries where time was defined by local noon (thereby, local ).
The center of the Eastern Hemisphere is located in the Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five ocean
The ocean (also the or the world ocean) is the body of that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of and contains 97% of . Another definition is "any of the large ...
at the intersection of the equator and the 90th meridian east, 910 km west of Indonesia
Indonesia ( ), officially the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Republik Indonesia, links=yes ), is a country in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia or SEA, is t ...
in the Ninety East Ridge
The Ninety East Ridge (also rendered as Ninetyeast Ridge, 90E Ridge or 90°E Ridge) is a mid-ocean ridge on the Indian Ocean floor named for its near-parallel strike along the 90th meridian at the center of the Eastern Hemisphere. It is approxima ...
. The nearest land is Simeulue
Simeulue is an island of Indonesia
Indonesia ( ), officially the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Republik Indonesia, links=yes ), is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. It ...
Island at .
The land mass of the Eastern Hemisphere is larger than that of the Western Hemisphere and has a wide variety of habitat
Ibex in an alpine habitat
In ecology
Ecology (from el, οἶκος, "house" and el, -λογία, label=none, "study of") is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. ...
s.
Demographics
82% ofhuman
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species
In biology
Biology is the natural science that studies life and living organisms, including their anatomy, physical structure, Biochemistry, chemical processes ...
s live in the Eastern Hemisphere, and 18% in the Western Hemisphere./ref>
See also
*East Antarctica
Image of a variety of ice types off the coast of East Antarctica.
East Antarctica, also called Greater Antarctica, constitutes the majority (two-thirds) of the Antarctica, Antarctic continent, lying on the Indian Ocean side of the continent, se ...
* Eastern world
Eastern world, also known as the East or the Orient
The Orient is a term for the East, traditionally comprising anything that belongs to the Eastern world, in relation to Europe
Europe is a continent
A continent is one of seve ...
* Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere is the half of Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbour and support life. 29.2% of Earth's surface is land consisting of continents and islands. The remaining ...
References
External links
* {{Authority control Hemispheres of Earth