[2] Is a Geographical Term for the Half of the Earth Th at Li
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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). Norway (due to Jan Mayen; mainland Norway lies entirely in the Eastern Hemisphe re). United Kingdom Netherlands (The islands of the Netherlands Antilles lie entirely within the We stern Hemisphere while the European Netherlands lies entirely in the Eastern Hem isphere). France Spain Algeria Mali Burkina Faso Togo Ghana Below is a list of the countries which are in both the Western and Eastern Hemis pheres along the 180th meridian, in order from north to south: Russia United States (United States islands) Kiribati Tuvalu Wallis and Futuna (France) Fiji New Zealand (Kermadec and Chatham Island groups are east of the 180th meridian) Countries in the Western Hemisphere but not in the Americas[edit] The following nations lie outside the Americas yet are in part or entirely withi n the Western Hemisphere. Algeria American Samoa (United States of America) Burkina Faso Cape Verde Cook Islands Faroe Islands (Denmark) Fiji France (Metropolitan) French Polynesia Wallis and Futuna Gambia Ghana Greenland (Denmark) (note: geographically a part of North America, but politica lly a part of Europe[7][8]) Guinea Guinea-Bissau Iceland Ireland Ivory Coast Kiribati Liberia Mali Mauritania Morocco Western Sahara Niue Portugal Russia Samoa Senegal Sierra Leone Spain Togo Tokelau (New Zealand) Tonga Tuvalu United Kingdom Gibraltar Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Falkland Islands.