Western Hemisphere

Geography

The Western Hemisphere comprises the Americas, except some of the Aleutian Islands to the southwest of the Alaskan mainland; the westernmost parts of Europe and Africa, both mainland and islands; the extreme eastern tip of the Russian mainland and islands (North Asia); many territories in Oceania; and a large part of Antarctica.

The center of the Western Hemisphere on the surface of the Earth is in the Pacific Ocean, at the intersection of the 90th meridian west and the Equator, among the Galápagos Islands. The nearest land is Genovesa Island at .

The highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere is Aconcagua, in the Andes of Argentina, at 6960.8 m.

The tallest freestanding structure in the Western Hemisphere is the CN Tower, in Toronto, at 553.3 m. The tallest building in the Western Hemisphere is One World Trade Center, in New York City at 541.3 m.

Other definitions

In an attempt to match the Western Hemisphere more closely with the Americas, some sources use the 20th meridian west and the diametrically opposed 160th meridian east to define the hemisphere. This definition excludes all of the European and African mainlands, but still includes some islands associated with these continents, more of eastern Russia and Oceania, and part of Antarctica. It includes all islands of Alaska, but excludes a small portion of northeast Greenland. There is no hemisphere that includes all of the Americas that also excludes all land outside the Americas, regardless of the meridians or points chosen to define it.

Sovereign states in both hemispheres

Below is a list of the sovereign states in both the Western and Eastern hemispheres on the IERS Reference Meridian, in order from north to south:

• Denmark Denmark, due to the entirety of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Denmark proper lies entirely within the Eastern Hemisphere.

• Norway Norway, due only to Jan Mayen. Mainland Norway, Svalbard and Bouvet Island lie entirely within the Eastern Hemisphere.

• United Kingdom United Kingdom, passing through Greenwich, London. Most of the country lies within the Western Hemisphere, as do most of its Overseas Territories.

• Netherlands The Netherlands has overseas islands that lie entirely within the Western Hemisphere, while mainland Netherlands lies entirely within the Eastern Hemisphere.

• France France, passing through Puynormand (Gironde). About 1/3 of the country, including cities like Nantes or Bordeaux, as well as the overseas regions of Guadeloupe, Martinique, and French Guiana lie within the Western Hemisphere.

• Spain Spain, passing through Castellón de la Plana (Valencian Community). Most of Spain, including the capital Madrid, the Canary Islands and the southern half of its Mediterranean territorial waters, lies within the Western Hemisphere. Spanish, Moroccan and Algerian Mediterranean waters are the only part of the Mediterranean Sea located in the Western Hemisphere.

• Algeria Algeria, passing through Stidia. About 1/4 of the country, including Oran, Algeria's second-largest city, lies within the Western Hemisphere.

• Mali Mali, passing through the municipal area of Gao. Most of Mali, including the capital Bamako, lies within the Western Hemisphere.

• Burkina Faso Burkina Faso, passing through Lalgaye. Most of the country, including the capital Ouagadougou, lies within the Western Hemisphere.

• Ghana Ghana, passing through Tema. Most of Ghana, including the capital Accra, lies within the Western Hemisphere.

• Togo Togo, passing near Tami (Tône Prefecture in Savanes Region).

Below is a list of additional sovereign states which are in both the Western and Eastern hemispheres along the 180th meridian, in order from north to south. (France is not listed below due to its inclusion above, though the meridian does pass Wallis and Futuna.) With the exception of the United States (due to Wake Island, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands), all of them are located on just one side of the International Date Line, which curves around them.

• Russia Russia, passing through Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Its portion lying east of the 180th meridian is the only part of the country lying in the Western Hemisphere.
• United States United States, passing through the Aleutian Islands (Alaska). Except for the portion of Aleutian Islands and waters lying west of the 180th meridian, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Wake Island, most of the country lies east of the 180th meridian.
• Kiribati Kiribati, passing close to Arorae. The country has both the Equator and the 180th meridian (antimeridian) crossing through its territory. It is the only country located in four hemispheres.
• Tuvalu Tuvalu, passing close to its capital, Funafuti.
• Fiji Fiji, passing close to its dependency Rotuma and passing through Taveuni.
• New Zealand Most of New Zealand proper lies within the Eastern Hemisphere; but Chatham Islands and Kermadec Islands, as well as the self-governing states of the Cook Islands and Niue and the dependent territory of Tokelau, lie east of the 180th meridian.

Countries, dependencies and other territories in the Western Hemisphere but not in the Americas

The following countries and territories lie outside the Americas yet are entirely, mostly, or partially within the Western Hemisphere:

;Africa ;Entirely

• Cape Verde
• Gambia
• Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Ivory Coast
• Liberia
• Madeira (Portugal)
• Mauritania
• Morocco
• Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)
  • Ascension Island
  • Saint Helena
  • Tristan da Cunha
    • Tristan da Cunha Gough Island
• Senegal
• Sierra Leone
• Western Sahara (disputed)

;Mostly

• Burkina Faso
• Ghana
• Mali

;Partly

• Algeria
• Togo

;Antarctica ;Entirely

• Antarctica Peter I Island (Antarctic Treaty parties / Claimed by Norway)
• South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (Administered by the United Kingdom / Claimed by Argentina)
• Antarctica South Orkney Islands (Antarctic Treaty parties / Claimed by Argentina and the United Kingdom)
• Antarctica South Shetland Islands (Antarctic Treaty parties / Claimed by Argentina, Chile and the United Kingdom)

;Partly

• Antarctica Mainland Antarctica (Antarctic Treaty parties)
  • Antarctica East Antarctica (partially)
  • Antarctica Transantarctic Mountains (partially)
  • Antarctica West Antarctica (entirely)

;Asia ;Partly

• Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (Russia)

;Europe ;Entirely

• Bailiwick of Guernsey (United Kingdom)
  • Alderney
  • Guernsey
  • Sark
• Jersey (United Kingdom)
• Faroe Islands (Denmark)
• Gibraltar (United Kingdom)
• Iceland
• Isle of Man (United Kingdom)
• Jan Mayen (Norway)
• Portugal
• Ireland

;Mostly

• Spain
• United Kingdom
  • England (mostly)
  • Northern Ireland (entirely)
  • Scotland (entirely)
  • Wales (entirely)

;Partly

• France (Metropolitan)

;Oceania ;Entirely

• American Samoa (United States)
• Chatham Islands (New Zealand)
• Clipperton Island (France)
• Cook Islands (New Zealand)
• Easter Island (Chile)
  • Easter Island Salas and Gómez Island
• French Polynesia (France)
  • Tahiti
• Galápagos Islands (Ecuador)
• Hawaii (United States)
• United States Howland and Baker Islands (United States)
  • Baker Island
  • Howland Island
• Jarvis Island (United States)
• Johnston Atoll (United States)
• New Zealand Kermadec Islands (New Zealand)
• Kingman Reef (United States)
• Midway Atoll (United States)
• Niue (New Zealand)
• Palmyra Atoll (United States)
• Pitcairn Islands (United Kingdom)
• Samoa
• Tokelau (New Zealand)
• Tonga

;Mostly

• Kiribati
• Wallis and Futuna (France)

;Partly

• Fiji
• Tuvalu

References

References

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12. Olson, Judy M. (1997). "Matching the map projection to the need". Cartography and Geographic Information Society, American Congress on Surveying and Mapping.