Western Hemisphere 73162 225615195 2008-07-14T15:51:56Z 125.60.228.22 /* Countries in both hemispheres */ [[Image:Hemisferio Oeste.png|thumb|right|250px|The geographical western hemisphere of Earth, highlighted in yellow.]] [[Image:Western_Hemisphere_LamAz.png|thumb|right|250px|Western hemisphere]] The '''Western Hemisphere''', also '''Western hemisphere'''<ref>''[[Oxford Dictionary of English]]'', 2nd ed., rev. 2006. London, UK: Oxford University Press, p. 2001.</ref> or '''western hemisphere''',<ref>[http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/western%20hemisphere ''Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary''] (based on Collegiate vol., 11th ed.) 2006. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc.</ref> is a [[geography|geographical]] term for the half of the [[Earth]] that lies [[west]] of the [[Prime Meridian]] (which crosses [[Greenwich]] in [[London]], [[England]], [[United Kingdom]]), the other half being the [[Eastern Hemisphere|eastern hemisphere]].<ref>"[http://www.britannica.com/oscar/print?articleId=275388&fullArticle=true&tocId=203675 Latitude and longitude]" ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''. 2006. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.</ref> It is also used to specifically refer to the [[Americas]] (or the [[New World]]) and adjacent waters, while excluding other territories that lie geographically in the hemisphere (parts of [[Africa]], [[Europe]], [[Antarctica]], and [[Asia]]); thus, it is sometimes referred to as the '''American hemisphere'''.<ref name=Olson>Olson, Judy M. "[http://www.gis.psu.edu/projection/chapter4.html Projecting the hemisphere]", ch. 4 from ''[http://www.gis.psu.edu/projection/ Matching the map projection to the need]''; Robinson, Arthur H. & Snyder, John P., eds. 1997. Bethesda, MD: Cartography and Geographic Information Society, American Congress on Surveying and Mapping.</ref> ''Western hemisphere'' is sometimes used as an equivalent for the [[geopolitics|geopolitical]] construct, the ''[[Western World]]'', which typically includes [[the Americas]], [[Europe]] and [[Australia]]. ==Overview== Any definition of eastern and western hemispheres, however, requires the selection of an arbitrary [[meridian (geography)|meridian]] and a corresponding meridian on the other side of the Earth. The Prime Meridian at 0° [[longitude]] is typically used, which runs through Greenwich; this is used to define the [[International Date Line]] (or [[End Meridian]]) on the other side of the Earth at 180° longitude. In its proper geographic sense, the western hemisphere includes not only the Americas, but the western portions of Europe and Africa, the easternmost tip of [[Russia]], numerous territories in [[Oceania]], and a portion of Antarctica while excluding some of the [[Aleutian Islands]] to the southwest of the [[Alaska]]n mainland. Often, the meridians of 20°&nbsp;W and the diametrically opposed 160°&nbsp;E are used,<ref name=Olson /><ref>"Western Hemisphere". ''Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary,'' 3rd ed. 2001. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., p. 1294.</ref> which excludes the European and African mainlands but also excludes a small portion of northeast [[Greenland]] and includes more of eastern Russia and Oceania (e.g., [[New Zealand]]). The two major regions of [[Antarctica]] are named after their positions mainly within a single hemisphere; [[West Antarctica]] is named for the Western Hemisphere. ==Countries in both hemispheres== Below is a list of the countries which are in both the Western and Eastern hemispheres on the [[Prime Meridian]], in order from north to south: *[[United Kingdom]] *[[France]] *[[Spain]] *[[Algeria]] *[[Mali]] *[[Burkina Faso]] *[[Togo]] *[[Ghana]] Below is a list of the countries which are in both the Western and Eastern hemispheres along the 180th meridian, in order from north to south: *[[Russia]] *[[United States]] *[[Kiribati]] *[[Tuvalu]] *[[Wallis and Futuna]] (France) *[[Fiji]] ==Countries in the Western Hemisphere but not in the Americas== The following countries lie outside the Americas (or New World) yet are in part or entirely within the Western Hemisphere. *[[Algeria]] *[[American Samoa]] (United States) *[[Burkina Faso]] *[[Cape Verde]] *[[Cook Islands]] (New Zealand) *[[Faeroe Islands]] (Denmark) *[[Fiji]] *[[France]] *[[French Polynesia]] (France) *[[Gambia]] *[[Ghana]] *[[Guinea]] *[[Guinea-Bissau]] *[[Iceland]] *[[Ireland]] *[[Ivory Coast]] *[[Kiribati]] *[[Liberia]] *[[Mali]] *[[Mauritania]] *[[Morocco]] *[[Niue]] (New Zealand) *[[Pitcairn Island]] (United Kingdom) *[[Portugal]] *[[Russia]] *[[Samoa]] *[[Senegal]] *[[Sierra Leone]] *[[Spain]] *[[Togo]] *[[Tokelau]] (New Zealand) *[[Tonga]] *[[Tuvalu]] *[[United Kingdom]] *[[Wallis and Futuna]] (France) *[[Western Sahara]] (Morocco) ==Sources== {{reflist}} {{Hemispheres}} [[Category:Hemispheres]] [[bg:Западно полукълбо]] [[ca:Hemisferi occidental]] [[da:Vestlige Halvkugle]] [[de:Westliche Hemisphäre]] [[et:Läänepoolkera]] [[es:Hemisferio Occidental]] [[fr:Hémisphère Ouest]] [[fy:Westlik healrûn]] [[gl:Hemisferio occidental]] [[ko:서반구]] [[id:Belahan barat]] [[it:Emisfero occidentale]] [[lv:Rietumu puslode]] [[ms:Hemisfera Barat]] [[nl:Westelijk halfrond]] [[ja:西半球]] [[no:Vestlige halvkule]] [[pl:Półkula zachodnia]] [[pt:Hemisfério ocidental]] [[ru:Западное полушарие]] [[simple:Western Hemisphere]] [[sk:Západná hemisféra]] [[vi:Tây bán cầu]] [[tr:Batı Yarımküresi]] [[uk:Західна півкуля]] [[zh:西半球]]