[2] Is a Geographical Term for the Half of the Earth Th at Li
Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere[1][2] is a geographical term for the half of the earth th at lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, UK) and east of the antimeridian, the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.[3] In this sense, the Western Hemisphere consists of the Americas, the western port ions of Europe and Africa, the extreme eastern tip of Russia, numerous territori es in Oceania, and a portion of Antarctica, while excluding some of the Aleutian Islands to the southwest of the Alaskan mainland. In an effort to define the Western Hemisphere as the parts of the world which ar e not part of the Old World, there also exist projections which use the 20th mer idian west and the diametrically opposed 160th meridian east to define the hemis phere.[4][5] This projection excludes the European and African mainlands and a s mall portion of northeast Greenland, but includes more of eastern Russia and Oce ania. The population of the geographical Western Hemisphere exceeds 1 billion. Of the four hemispheres, only the Southern Hemisphere is less populated. The highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere is Aconcagua in the Andes of Arge ntina at 6,960.8 metres (22,837 ft). [6] Contents [hide] 1 Countries in both hemispheres 2 Countries in the Western Hemisphere but not in the Americas 3 Sources 4 External links Countries in both hemispheres[edit] Below is a list of the countries which are in both the Western and Eastern Hemis pheres on the IERS Reference Meridian, in order from north to south: Denmark (due to Greenland and the Faroe Islands; mainland Denmark lies entirely in the Eastern Hemisphere).
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