Land and water hemispheres
Earth's hemispheres maximizing land and ocean coverage, respectively.
The Earth can be divided into two non-overlapping hemispheres that maximize the total area of either land or ocean. The land hemisphere is centered on Metropolitan France, while the water hemisphere has its center southeast of New Zealand. Although the land hemisphere contains 80 percent of the planet's land, water still covers 53 percent of its surface, making it only 47 percent land. In contrast, the water hemisphere is 89 percent ocean.
The precise center of the land hemisphere has been calculated at different times. A 2002 determination placed it in a central area spanning two focal points around Brittany and the Mediterranean Sea between the Balearic Islands and Catalonia. An earlier calculation from 1945 put the center at 47°13′N 1°32′W, within the city of Nantes, France. The water hemisphere's center is the antipode of this point, located at 47°13′S 178°28′E, near New Zealand's Bounty Islands in the Pacific Ocean. A 1913 alternative assignment set the land hemisphere's center at 47°24′42″N 2°37′15″W, on Île Dumet near Piriac-sur-Mer, France, with its antipode at 47°24′42″S 177°22′45″E, also near the Bounty Islands.
The land hemisphere holds nearly all of Asia (except Maritime Southeast Asia), most of South America, and all of Africa, Europe, and North America. Despite this, water still slightly outweighs land within it. This hemisphere also contains most of Earth's inland waters, such as the African Great Lakes, the Caspian Sea, the North American Great Lakes, and Lake Baikal. It is almost identical to the hemisphere with the greatest human population.
The water hemisphere contains only about one-fifth of the world's land. This includes Easter Island, the Hawaiian Islands, other Pacific islands, Maritime Southeast Asia, the southern tip of the Indochinese Peninsula, the southern portion of the Malay Peninsula, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, and the Southern Cone of the Americas. Antarctica, Australia, and Zealandia lie entirely within this hemisphere. Antarctica supplies the water hemisphere with most of the planet's ice. Most of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, along with the entire Southern Ocean, are also in this hemisphere. By area, the water hemisphere is approximately 89 percent ocean (nearly all part of the World Ocean), 6 percent dry land, and 5 percent polar ice cap. Alphonse Berget's estimates of land area per continent in each hemisphere are shown in the table below.
- land_hemisphere_center_1945
- 47°13′N 1°32′W (Nantes, France)
- land_hemisphere_center_1913
- 47°24′42″N 2°37′15″W (Île Dumet, France)
- land_hemisphere_land_percentage
- 47%
- water_hemisphere_water_percentage
- 89%
- land_hemisphere_share_of_global_land
- 80.1%
Lore & Background
The land hemisphere is centered in Metropolitan France, with several calculated focal points. One determination places the center in the city of Nantes, while another locates it near Piriac-sur-Mer. A 2002 calculation identified a central area spanning two focal points around Brittany and the Mediterranean Sea between the Balearic Islands and Catalonia. The water hemisphere is the antipode of the land hemisphere, centered southeast of New Zealand near the Bounty Islands. The two hemispheres do not overlap. The land hemisphere contains 80.1 percent of the planet’s land, including nearly all of Asia (except Maritime Southeast Asia), most of South America, and all of Africa, Europe, and North America. Despite this, the hemisphere itself is only 47 percent land, with water covering 53 percent. It also holds most of Earth’s inland waters, such as the African Great Lakes, the Caspian Sea, the North American Great Lakes, and Lake Baikal. The water hemisphere is 89 percent ocean, containing only about one-fifth of the world’s land. This includes Easter Island, the Hawaiian Islands, other Pacific islands, Maritime Southeast Asia, the southern tip of the Indochinese Peninsula, the southern portion of the Malay Peninsula, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, and the Southern Cone of the Americas. Antarctica, Australia, and Zealandia lie entirely within the water hemisphere, which also contains most of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the entire Southern Ocean, and the majority of Earth’s polar ice cap.
Reader's Guide
The land and water hemispheres provide a framework for understanding Earth's uneven distribution of land and ocean. The land hemisphere contains 80.1 percent of the planet's land, including nearly all of Asia (except Maritime Southeast Asia), most of South America, and all of Africa, Europe, and North America. Despite this, water still covers 53 percent of the land hemisphere. The water hemisphere is 89 percent ocean, containing most of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the entire Southern Ocean, and only about one-fifth of the world's land, including Antarctica, Australia, Zealandia, and scattered islands. The hemispheres also reflect human population distribution, as the land hemisphere is almost identical to the hemisphere containing the greatest human population. The water hemisphere holds the majority of Earth's ice, provided by Antarctica.
Did You Know?
- The land hemisphere contains 80.1% of the planet's land but is itself only 47% land.
- The water hemisphere is 89% ocean and includes the whole Southern Ocean.
- The center of the water hemisphere is the antipode of the land hemisphere's center.
- Antarctica provides the water hemisphere with the majority of Earth's ice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Land and water hemispheres?
They are the two half-globes of Earth that each capture the greatest possible total area of land or ocean, respectively. A core rule of their existence is that the two can never share any territory with one another.
What are the Land and water hemispheres's defining traits or 'powers'?
The land hemisphere concentrates 80% of every continent on the planet into a single half-globe, yet it is still only 47% solid ground. Its mirror, the water hemisphere, is a vast 89% open ocean.
Why are the Land and water hemispheres important?
They reveal that Earth's continents are far from evenly distributed and are instead heavily clustered on one side of the globe. That extreme asymmetry is precisely what makes a 'maximum-land' half-globe a meaningful concept at all.
How does the Land and water hemispheres story end?
Their narrative is one of permanent, mathematical separation: because each is defined as the absolute maximum-coverage half, they are guaranteed to remain non-overlapping. They stay perfect, mutually exclusive counterparts for as long as the planet's surface endures.
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