Land and water hemispheres
Two non-overlapping hemispheres maximizing land and ocean coverage.
The land hemisphere and the water hemisphere are the two halves of Earth that hold the greatest possible amounts of land and ocean, respectively. Because the entire planet’s surface is divided into either land or ocean, these two hemispheres do not overlap. The land hemisphere is centered on Metropolitan France, and the water hemisphere is centered southeast of New Zealand.
The land hemisphere contains 80 percent of all land on Earth, yet even in this hemisphere, water still covers 53 percent of the surface, leaving only 47 percent as land. The water hemisphere, in contrast, is 89 percent ocean. Most of Asia (except Maritime Southeast Asia), most of South America, and all of Africa, Europe, and North America lie within the land hemisphere. This hemisphere also holds nearly all 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 contains only about one-fifth of the world’s land, including Easter Island, Hawaii, other Pacific islands, Maritime Southeast Asia, the southern tip of Indochina, the southern Malay Peninsula, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, and the Southern Cone of the Americas. Antarctica, Australia, and Zealandia are entirely within the water hemisphere. Antarctica supplies the water hemisphere with most of the planet’s ice. Most of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and the entire Southern Ocean, are also in the water hemisphere. In the water hemisphere, about 89 percent is ocean, 6 percent is dry land, and 5 percent is polar ice cap.
The center of the land hemisphere was calculated in 2002 as a central area with two focal points: one around Brittany and another in the Mediterranean between the Balearic Islands and Catalonia. A 1945 determination placed the center at Nantes, France. The water hemisphere’s center is the antipode of that point, located near New Zealand’s Bounty Islands in the Pacific. An earlier 1913 assignment put the land hemisphere’s center near Piriac-sur-Mer, France, with the corresponding water hemisphere center again near the Bounty Islands.
Quick Facts
- Land hemisphere land percentage
- 47%
- Water hemisphere water percentage
- 89%
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The concept divides Earth into two hemispheres: one containing the greatest possible land area, the other the greatest possible ocean area. The land hemisphere is centered in Metropolitan France, with multiple calculated focal points. The water hemisphere is the antipode of the land hemisphere, centered near New Zealand's Bounty Islands in the Pacific 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 holds only about one-fifth of the world's land, including Easter Island, Hawaii, Maritime Southeast Asia, the Southern Cone of the Americas, and all of Antarctica, Australia, and Zealandia. The water hemisphere is approximately 89 percent water, 6 percent dry land, and 5 percent polar ice cap.
Reader's Guide
The land and water hemispheres provide a framework for understanding the uneven distribution of Earth's land and ocean. The land hemisphere, though containing 80 percent of global land, is still mostly ocean (53 percent water), highlighting how water dominates even the most land-rich half of the planet. The water hemisphere is overwhelmingly oceanic at 89 percent water, with Antarctica supplying most of its ice. These hemispheres are significant in geography and planetary science for illustrating Earth's asymmetry: the majority of human population lives in the land hemisphere, and the hemispheres contain distinct clusters of continents and islands. The concept also relates to the geographical center of Earth and the idea of an ocean world. The division underscores that no hemisphere on Earth is truly land-dominated; even the land hemisphere is more water than land.
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