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Elements of the globe

Know about the globe

What is a Hemisphere?

‘Hemi’ means ‘half’ in Greek language and ‘sphere’ means ‘a round object’. Hemisphere, thus, means half of the Earth that is spherical in shape. Geographers have divided the Earth into four distinct hemispheres—Eastern, Western, Northern and Southern—each representing one half of the Earth.

How many Hemispheres does the Earth have?

Geographers divide the Earth into the North and South Hemispheres separated by the equator, and into the East and West Hemispheres separated by the Greenwich Meridian. But, these four regions are not clearly demarcated from each other and also overlap sometimes. So, for the ease of studying, the Earth is divided into only two distinct and non-overlapping hemispheres: the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.

Northern Hemisphere

The Northern Hemisphere comprises of all of North America, northern parts of South America, around two-thirds of Africa, all of Asia except some parts of Indonesia, and all of Europe.

Southern Hemisphere

The Southern Hemisphere comprises of most of South America, one-third of Africa, some parts of Indonesia, all of Antarctica and all of Australia/Oceania.

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What is a Hemisphere?

‘ ’ means ‘ ’ in Greek language and ‘ ’ means ‘ ’. Hemisphere, thus, means half of the Earth that is spherical in shape. Geographers have divided the Earth into four distinct hemispheres—Eastern, Western, Northern and Southern—each representing one half of the Earth.

How many Hemispheres does the Earth have?

Geographers divide the Earth into the Hemispheres separated by the , and into the East and West Hemispheres separated by the Greenwich Meridian.

Northern Hemisphere

The  comprises of all of North America, northern parts of South America, around two-thirds of Africa, all of Asia except some parts of Indonesia, and all of Europe.

Southern Hemisphere

The  comprises of most of South America, one-third of Africa, some parts of Indonesia, all of Antarctica and all of Australia/Oceania.

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The globe and its parts