Geographic map of the southern hemisphere. Ground surface

Most of the surface of our planet is covered with water. Observers from space see the Earth, not covered by clouds, as blue. It would be more correct to call it not planet Earth, but planet Ocean.

The world ocean is divided into the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian and Arctic Oceans. The average depth of the oceans is 3,711 m, and the greatest is 11,022 m in the Mariana Trench of the Pacific Ocean. Large land masses - continents - rise above the oceans. There are six of them - Eurasia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica and Australia. The continents rise on average 875 m above sea level. The highest point on Earth is in Asia - Mount Chomolungma, or Everest, in the Himalayas - 8848 m. Two-thirds of the planet's surface is occupied by plains and low mountains, and a third by medium and high mountains. Small areas of land within continents lie below sea level.

On the coast of the Dead Sea in Asia there is the lowest elevation - 395 m. If you compare the Northern and Southern hemispheres, it is easy to notice that the Northern hemisphere is less covered with water (a total of 61% - approx.. Large continents are located here - Eurasia and North America, a significant part Africa and part of South America.In the Southern Hemisphere, water occupies 8 1% of the entire territory.

Map of the Earth's hemispheres - eastern hemisphere

In the Southern Hemisphere there are two relatively small continents - Antarctica and Australia, parts of the continents of South America and Africa. In addition to continents, islands rise above the surface of the ocean - small areas of land surrounded on all sides by water. The largest of them are Greenland, New Guinea, Kalimantan, Madagascar.

Historically, when Europeans discovered and explored new lands, they gave them names. Europe was the Old World for them, they considered Asia a separate part of the world - approx.. After the discovery of America, Europeans called both continents - North and South America - the New World. The rest of the world - Africa, Antarctica and Australia coincide with the continents.

The Northern Hemisphere is the northern half of the globe. It originates at 0° latitude or and extends north to 90° north latitude or . The word hemisphere means half a sphere, and since the Earth is a sphere oblate at the poles (an ellipsoid), it is divided into two hemispheres.

Geography and climate of the Northern Hemisphere

Map of continents located in the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth

Like, the Northern Hemisphere has a diverse climate. However, the Northern Hemisphere contains more land mass, so it is even more diverse, which has a significant impact on weather and climate patterns. The lands of the northern hemisphere include Europe, North America and part of South America, two-thirds, and part of the island of New Guinea, and are washed by the waters of the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian and Arctic oceans.

Winter in the Northern Hemisphere lasts from December 21 or 22 (winter solstice) until the spring equinox on March 20. Summer begins with the summer solstice on June 20 or 21 until the autumn equinox on September 22 or 23. These dates are determined by the tilt of the Earth's axis. During the period from December 21 (22) to March 20, the axis in the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun, and during the period from June 20 (21) to September 22 (23), it is tilted towards the Sun.

To make it easier to study the climate of the Northern Hemisphere, it is divided into several different climatic regions. The Arctic is the region that lies north of the Arctic Circle at latitude 66.5°. The climate here is characterized by very cold winters and cool summers. During the winter, the polar region is in complete darkness for 24 hours a day, while during the summer it receives 24 hours of sunlight.

The North Temperate Zone extends south of the Arctic Circle to the Tropic of Cancer. This climate region is characterized by mild summers and winters, but specific regions within the zone can have very different climate patterns. For example, the southwestern United States has an arid desert climate with very hot summers, while the state of Florida in the southeastern United States has a rainy season and mild winters.

The Northern Hemisphere also includes the portion of the tropics between the Tropic of Cancer and the equator. This area is generally hot all year round and has a rainy summer season.

The shadow of a sundial moves clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, and in the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere. During the day, the Sun tends to rise to its maximum while remaining in a southern position, except in regions between the Tropic of Cancer and the equator, where the midday Sun can be seen in the north, directly overhead, or in the south depending on the time of year.

When viewed from the Northern Hemisphere, the Moon appears upside down compared to the view from the Southern Hemisphere. The North Pole tilts away from the Milky Way's galactic center, making the Northern Hemisphere better suited for deep space observation because it is less illuminated by the Milky Way.

Coriolis force and the Northern Hemisphere

An important component of Northern Hemisphere physics is the Coriolis force and the specific direction in which objects are deflected in the northern part of the Earth. In the Northern Hemisphere, almost any object moving above or on the surface of the Earth is deflected to the right. Because of this, any large masses of air or water north of the equator tend to swirl clockwise. For example, most ocean currents in the North Atlantic and North Pacific turn clockwise. In the Southern Hemisphere they move in the opposite direction, as all large objects are deflected to the left.

For the same reason, air currents tend to spread in a clockwise pattern. Thus, clockwise air circulation in the Northern Hemisphere is characteristic of areas of high atmospheric pressure (anticyclones). On the other hand, areas of low atmospheric pressure (cyclones) tend to swirl air in a counterclockwise direction. Hurricanes and tropical storms (massive low-pressure weather systems) rotate counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.

Population of the Northern Hemisphere

Map of the distribution of the Earth's population

Since the Northern Hemisphere has a larger land area than the Southern Hemisphere, it is not surprising that it is home to the world's largest cities and a significant portion of the world's population (more than 6.5 billion people, or about 90% of the entire Earth's population). By some estimates, the Northern Hemisphere contains 39.3% of the land and 60.7% of the ocean, while the southern half of the planet accounts for only 19.1% of the land and 80.9% of the ocean.

Ptolemy in his work "Almagest" canonized the following 48 ancient constellations, which still bear the name Ptolemy. Zodiac constellations: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces. Northern constellations: Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Draco, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, Perseus, Bootes, Northern Crown, Hercules, Lyra, Swan, Charioteer, Ophiuchus, Serpent, Arrow, Eagle, Dolphin, Foal, Pegasus, Triangle. Southern constellations: Whale, Orion, River, Hare, Canis major, minor, Ship, Hydra, Chalice, Raven, Centaurus, Wolf, Altar, Southern Crown, Southern Fish. Ptolemy did not consider Coma Berenices a separate constellation.

Arab stargazers, in addition to lunar houses, gave various names for individual bright stars. Having become acquainted with the astronomy of the Greeks and translating Ptolemy's Almagest, they changed some of the names according to the positions of the stars in the drawings of the Ptolemaic constellations. In the 12th century, a Latin translation of the Almagest was made from Arabic, and in the 16th century, directly from Greek, based on found manuscripts. The stars of the southern hemisphere, unknown to Greek astronomers, were divided into constellations much later. Some of them were planned by the Arabs.

There is no doubt that the navigators of the 15th and 16th centuries (Vespucci, Corsali, Pigafetta, Peter of Medinsky, Gutman) gradually assembled new constellations during their travels to the southern seas. They were put in order by Peter Dirk Keyser. During his stay on the island of Java (1595), he determined the locations of 120 southern stars and placed constellation figures on them. The following 13 constellations were included, based on Keyser's inventory, in the atlases of Bayer (1603) and Bartsch (1624): Phoenix, Goldfish, Chameleon, Flying Fish, Southern Cross, Water Snake, Fly, Bird of Paradise, Southern Triangle, Peacock, Indian, Crane, Toucan. Of these, the Southern Cross was known to Ptolemy and formed part of the Centaurus.

The current names of constellations and stars represent an amalgam of these lists and translations. Ancient drawings of constellations are completely lost. Only distorted figures on Arab globes of the 13th century have reached us; for example, on a globe in the Borghese Museum in Veletri (1225), in the mathematical society in Dresden (1279), in the London astronomical society, etc. At the beginning of the 16th century, the famous Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer drew constellations according to their description by Ptolemy.

Unfortunately, not a single authentic copy of Dürer's drawings has survived. Dürer's drawings, modified by other artists, were reprinted in the star atlases of Bayer (1603), Flamsteed (1729). Then the figures of the constellations of the latest layout appeared. Currently, constellation drawings are no longer printed. The credit for banishing the “menagerie” from astronomical atlases belongs to Harding. He published a celestial atlas in 1823, where only the boundaries of the constellations were plotted.

Physical map of the world allows you to see the relief of the earth's surface and the location of the main continents. A physical map gives a general idea of ​​the location of seas, oceans, complex terrain and elevation changes in different parts of the planet. On a physical map of the world, you can clearly see mountains, plains, and systems of ridges and highlands. Physical maps of the world are widely used in schools when studying geography, as they are basic for understanding the main natural features of different parts of the world.

Physical map of the world in Russian - relief

PHYSICAL MAP OF THE WORLD displays the surface of the Earth. The space of the earth's surface contains all the natural resources and wealth of humanity. The configuration of the earth's surface predetermines the entire course of human history. Change the boundaries of the continents, stretch the direction of the main mountain ranges differently, change the direction of the rivers, remove this or that strait or bay, and the whole history of mankind will become different.

“What is the surface of the Earth? The concept of surface has the same meaning as the concept of geographical envelope and the concept of biosphere proposed by geochemists... The earth's surface is three-dimensional - three-dimensional, and by accepting the geographical envelope as a unique biosphere, we emphasize the paramount importance of living matter for geography. The geographical envelope ends where living matter ends.”

Physical map of the Earth's hemispheres in Russian

Physical map of the world in English from National Geographic

Physical map of the world in Russian

Good physical map of the world in English

Physical map of the world in Ukrainian

Physical map of the Earth in English

Detailed physical map of the Earth with main currents

Physical world map with state borders

Map of the world's geological regions - Geological map of the world's regions

A physical map of the world with the ice and clouds

Physical map of the Earth

A physical map of the world - Wikiwand A physical map of the world

The great significance of the structure of continents for the fate of mankind is indisputable. The gap between the eastern and western hemispheres disappeared only 500 years ago with the voyages of the Spaniards and Portuguese to America. Before this, connections between the peoples of both hemispheres existed mainly only in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean.

The deep penetration of the northern continents into the Arctic has long made routes around their northern shores inaccessible. The close convergence of the three main oceans in the area of ​​the three Mediterranean seas created the possibility of connecting them with each other naturally (Strait of Malacca) or artificially (Suez Canal, Panama Canal). The chains of mountains and their location predetermined the movement of peoples. Vast plains led to the unification of people under one state will, strongly dissected spaces contributed to maintaining state fragmentation.

The dismemberment of America by rivers, lakes and mountains led to the formation of Indian peoples who, due to their isolation, could not resist the Europeans. Seas, continents, mountain ranges and rivers form natural boundaries between countries and peoples (F. Fatzel, 1909).