Northern Hemisphere

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Image:Broom icon.svg

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (October 2007)

The Northern Hemisphere or northern hemisphere^[1] is the half of a planet that is north of the equator—the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator. Earth's northern hemisphere contains most of the land and about 90% of the human population.^{[citation needed]}

In the temperate regions of the hemisphere, winter lasts from December 21 to March 21 (though winter weather can begin as early as September and last into May or even June in arctic regions) and Summer from June 21 to September 22.

Earth's perihelion, during which its orbital motion is fastest, occurs in January. In theory, northern hemisphere winters would therefore tend to be shorter and less severe than southern hemisphere winters at equivalent latitudes, but in practice, the moderating effect of the larger southern hemisphere oceans more than compensates for this effect. Tropical regions tend to experience a rainy season during the 'summer' months, and a dry season during the 'winter' months.

Regions north of the Arctic Circle will experience some days in summer on which the sun never sets, and some days in winter on which the sun never rises. The duration of these phases varies from one day for places right on the Arctic Circle to several months near the North Pole itself.

Hurricanes and tropical storms spin counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere due to the Coriolis effect. In contrast they spin clockwise on the southern hemisphere. Also the Moon appears "upside down" compared to a view from the southern hemisphere and the view of the stars is different.

Contents 1 Continents in the northern hemisphere: 1.1 Entirely 1.2 Mostly 1.3 Partly 2 Countries primarily in the northern hemisphere that are southeast of Asia: 3 Countries and territories wholly, mostly, or partly in the northern hemisphere that are in South America: 3.1 Wholly 3.2 Mostly 3.3 Partly 4 Countries and territories wholly, mostly, or partly in the northern hemisphere that are in North America 4.1 Wholly 5 See also 6 References

[edit] Continents in the northern hemisphere:

• Asia (Indonesia is primarily in the southern hemisphere)
• Europe
• North America
• A small part of South America, north of the Amazon River
• About 2/3 of Africa, north of the Congo River

==Countries wholly, mostly, or partly in the northern hemisphere that are in

[edit] Entirely

[edit] Mostly

• Equatorial Guinea
• Kenya
• Sao tome and principe
• Somalia
• Uganda

[edit] Partly

• Democratic rep of Congo
• Gabon
• Republic of Congo

[edit] Countries primarily in the northern hemisphere that are southeast of Asia:

• Marshall Islands
• Micronesia
• Palau

[edit] Countries and territories wholly, mostly, or partly in the northern hemisphere that are in South America:

[edit] Wholly

• French Guiana
• Guyana
• Suriname
• Venezuela

[edit] Mostly

• Colombia

[edit] Partly

• Brazil
• Ecuador

[edit] Countries and territories wholly, mostly, or partly in the northern hemisphere that are in North America

[edit] Wholly

[edit] See also

• Seasons
• Solstice and equinox
• Tropic of Cancer

[edit] References

v • d • e Hemispheres of the Earth
Northern hemisphere • Southern hemisphere • Western hemisphere • Eastern hemisphere • Land hemisphere • Water hemisphere

af:Noordelike Halfrond

ar:نصف الكرة الأرضية الشمالي ast:Hemisferiu Norte bs:Sjeverna hemisfera bg:Северно полукълбо ca:Hemisferi nord da:Nordlige halvkugle de:Nordhalbkugel et:Põhjapoolkera es:Hemisferio Norte eo:Norda hemisfero eu:Ipar hemisferio fa:نیم‌کره شمالی fr:Hémisphère Nord gl:Hemisferio norte ko:북반구 hr:Sjeverna polutka id:Belahan utara it:Emisfero boreale he:חצי הכדור הצפוני kn:ಉತ್ತರ ಗೋಲಾರ್ಧ ku:Nîvkada Bakur lv:Ziemeļu puslode lb:Nordhallefkugel mr:उत्तर गोलार्ध ms:Hemisfera utara nl:Noordelijk halfrond nds-nl:Noordelijk halfroend ja:北半球 no:Nordlige halvkule nn:Den nordlege halvkula pl:Półkula północna pt:Hemisfério norte ro:Emisfera nordică ru:Северное полушарие simple:Northern Hemisphere fi:Pohjoinen pallonpuolisko sv:Norra halvklotet ta:வட அரைக்கோளம் vi:Bắc bán cầu tr:Kuzey Yarımküre uk:Північна півкуля cbk-zam:Hemisferio Norte zh:北半球