Theland hemisphere andwater hemisphere are thehemispheres of Earth containing the largest possible total areas ofland andocean, respectively. By definition (assuming that the entire surface can be classified as either "land" or "ocean"), the two hemispheres do not overlap.
Determinations of the hemispheres vary slightly. One determination places the centre of the land hemisphere at47°13′N1°32′W / 47.217°N 1.533°W /47.217; -1.533 (in the city ofNantes, France).[1] The centre of the water hemisphere is theantipode of the centre of the land hemisphere, and is therefore located at47°13′S178°28′E / 47.217°S 178.467°E /-47.217; 178.467 (nearNew Zealand'sBounty Islands in thePacific Ocean).
An alternative assignment determines the centre of the land hemisphere to be at47°24′42″N2°37′15″W / 47.411667°N 2.620833°W /47.411667; -2.620833 (inÎle Dumet [fr] nearPiriac-sur-Mer, France).[2][3] The centre of the sea hemisphere is located at47°24′42″S177°22′45″E / 47.411667°S 177.379167°E /-47.411667; 177.379167 (near New Zealand's Bounty Islands in the Pacific Ocean).
The land hemisphere has the substantial majority of the planet's land (80.1 percent), including nearly all ofAsia (withMaritime Southeast Asia being the only notable exception) and most ofSouth America.Africa,Europe, andNorth America are solely within the land hemisphere. However, even in the land hemisphere, the water area still slightly exceeds the land area (with 53 percent water to 47 percent land). This hemisphere is almost identical to the hemisphere containing the greatest human population.[4] The land hemisphere also contains most of Earth's inland waters, including theAfrican Great Lakes,Eurasia'sCaspian Sea, theGreat Lakes of North America, andLake Baikal inSiberia.
The water hemisphere has only about one-fifth of theworld's land, includingEaster Island, theHawaiian Islands, otherPacific islands,Maritime Southeast Asia, the southern tip of theIndochinese Peninsula, the southern portion of theMalay Peninsula, theRyukyu Islands,Taiwan, and theSouthern Cone of theAmericas.Antarctica,Australia, andZealandia are solely within the water hemisphere. Some sources[1] further divide land into "dry land" and "ice cap". Antarctica provides the water hemisphere with the majority ofEarth's ice.
Most of thePacific Ocean and theIndian Ocean, and the wholeSouthern Ocean, are in the water hemisphere. The water hemisphere is approximately 89 percent water (almost all pertaining to theWorld Ocean), 6 percent dry land and 5 percentpolar ice cap.[1]
The table below shows Alphonse Berget's estimates of the land area in each continent in the land and water hemispheres.[2]
| Continent | Land area within each hemisphere km2 (sq mi) | |
|---|---|---|
| Land | Water | |
| Africa | 29,818,400 (11,512,949) | 0 (0) |
| Americas | 34,955,670 (13,496,460) | 3,391,010 (1,309,276) |
| Antarctica | 0 (0) | 13,120,000 (5,065,660) |
| Asia | 40,897,241 (15,790,513) | 3,245,649 (1,253,152) |
| Europe | 9,732,250 (3,757,643) | 0 (0) |
| Oceania | 0 (0) | 8,958,630 (3,458,946) |
| Total land area | 115,403,561 (44,557,564) | 28,715,289 (11,087,035) |
