The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the 180th meridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. In the United States, the term "Western Hemisphere" is often used as a metonym for the Americas, even though geographically, the hemisphere also includes parts of other continents.
Geography
The Western Hemisphere comprises the Americas, except some of the Aleutian Islands to the southwest of the Alaskan mainland; the westernmost parts of Europe and Africa, both mainland and islands; the extreme eastern tip of the Russian mainland and islands (North Asia); many territories in Oceania; and a large part of Antarctica. The center of the Western Hemisphere on the surface of the Earth is in the Pacific Ocean, at the intersection of the 90th meridian west and the Equator, among the Galápagos Islands. The nearest land is Genovesa Island at 0°19′N 89°57′W. The largest country entirely in the Western Hemisphere is Canada at 9,984,670 km2. Fifteen independent countries entirely in the Western Hemisphere have no land borders to other countries: Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Cape Verde, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Iceland, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Tonga and Trinidad and Tobago. Various other island entities in the Western Hemisphere are semi-independent territories of countries, while the Dominican Republic, Ireland and Haiti are considered divided island countries, due to having land borders. Ten of Africa's 54 independent countries are entirely in the Western Hemisphere: the largest is Mauritania at 1,030,000 km2. Five African countries are partially in the Western Hemisphere. Three of Europe's 44 independent countries are entirely in the Western Hemisphere, while seven are partially in it. Portugal is the only mainland European country entirely in the Western Hemisphere, and Spain has the most mainland European land in the Western Hemisphere. However, a moderate proportion of Spain's population still live in the Eastern Hemisphere, since the major city of Barcelona is part of the small part of Spain east of the prime meridian. While the Polynesian countries of Samoa and Tonga are part of the Western Hemisphere, no countries from the neighboring regions of Melanesia and Micronesia are entirely in the Western Hemisphere. The highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere is Aconcagua, in the Andes of Argentina, at 6,960.8 metres (22,837 feet).
The tallest freestanding structure in the Western Hemisphere is the CN Tower, in Toronto, at 553.3 metres (1,815 ft). The tallest building in the Western Hemisphere is One World Trade Center, in New York City, at 1,776 feet (541.3 m).
Other definitions The inclusion of parts of non-American areas such as Western Europe is controversial among some, since it conflicts with constructs of the Western Hemisphere which correlate it with the New World or the Americas. Under the accepted geographical definition, historical events such as The Great Fire of London (51.51°N 0.09°W / 51.51; -0.09) are considered to have occurred in the Western Hemisphere, despite not being events associated with the history of the Americas and the New World. Similarly, facts such as Brazil being the last country to abolish slavery in the Western Hemisphere are not technically valid under the geographical definition of the Western Hemisphere, as slavery continued in the Western Hemisphere in non-American areas, with Mauritiana being the last country in the world to abolish slavery in 1981. In an attempt to match the Western Hemisphere more closely with the Americas, some sources use the 20th meridian west and the diametrically opposed 160th meridian east to define the hemisphere. This definition excludes all of the European and African mainlands, but still includes some islands associated with these continents, more of eastern Russia and Oceania, and part of Antarctica. It includes all islands of Alaska, but excludes a small portion of northeast Greenland. There is no hemisphere that includes all of the Americas that also excludes all land outside the Americas, regardless of the meridians or points chosen to define it.
Human history Morocco has some of the earliest evidence of habitation by modern forms of humans, dating back to 315,000 years ago. Some areas in West Africa like Ivory Coast and Senegal are believed to have had settlements from modern forms of humans dating to 150,000 years ago. Modern humans reached Portugal, Spain and Great Britain roughly 43,000 years ago, with Ireland being reached 10,000 years ago. The Americas were settled by humans roughly 15,000 years ago. Iceland and the Faroe Islands were settled over 1,000 years ago. Samoa and Tonga were settled 3,000 years ago, although other areas in Polynesia like Easter Island and Hawaii were settled under 1,000 years ago. Some areas in the Western Hemisphere were uninhabited by humans before the Age of Discovery, including Baker Island, Cape Verde, the Cayman Islands, Clipperton Island, Cocos Island, the Falkland Islands, the Galápagos Islands, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, the Juan Fernández Islands, Midway Atoll, the Revillagigedo Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and Tristan da Cunha. The part of Antarctica in the Western Hemisphere was also uninhabited before the Age of Discovery.
Environment
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