196 I'UYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



it will contain by far the greater portion of all the land upon the face of the globe. The 

 opposite hemisphere, of which the antipodes of London will be the centre a point to 

 the south-east of New Zealand, near to Antipodes Island will be a territory in 

 which the ocean immensely preponderates, the principal tracts of land consisting of 

 Australasia, and the southern extremity of South America. If we consider the two hemi 

 spheres into which the earth is divided by the equator, and the zones into which each is 

 subdivided, the unequal distribution of the land and water will also be very apparent. 

 Regarding the whole area of each zone as represented by 1, the proportion of land has 

 been stated as follows : 



In the northern part of the torrid zone - - 0-297 



In the northern temperate zone - - 559 



In the northern frigid zone - - O-4OO 



In the southern part of the torrid zone - O-312 



In the southern temperate zone - 0-07.5 



In the southern frigid zone - - Unknown. 



The great preponderance of the land on the north of the equator over that on the south 

 is obvious from this estimate. The former is in proportion to the latter as 16 to scarcely 

 5. The proportionate quantity of each, in each zone, according to the preceding state 

 ment, may be thus expressed : 



Land. Water. 



In the whole of the torrid zone - - -3045 '6955 



In the two temperate zones - -3170 -GS30 



In the two frigid zones - -200O -8000 



The superficial extent of the land in each zone is generally estimated to be : 



Sq. Miles. Sq. Miles. 



Arctic zone - - 3,252,589 South torrid zone - - 12,215,73.0 



North temperate zone - 28,531,631 South temperate /one - 3,828,O3G 



North torrid /one - - 11,628,440 ; Antarctic zone - - Unknown. 



Total 59,456,431 



The course of recent discovery, especially since the year 1838, renders some modification 

 of these tables necessary in the case of the south frigid zone. Down to the time of 

 Captain Cook it was generally believed that a great continent existed around the 

 antarctic pole, which figures in the ancient maps as " Terra Australis Incognita." This 

 idea was founded upon the loose reports of some southern voyagers, and upon the 

 presumption that such a continent must necessarily exist to counterbalance the mass of 

 land in the northern hemisphere. The second voyage of Cook was expressly designed 

 to solve the problem, and, after penetrating into high southern latitudes without finding 

 anything but a few islands, the supposed continent was given up, and land was imagined 

 to exist only slightly depressed beneath the surface of the ocean. Within a recent 

 interval the enterprise of France has sent out Dumont d'Urville, that of America Charles 

 "VVilkes, and that of England James Clark Ross; and an extensive coast-line has been 

 discovered, probably the boundary of a south polar continent. The preceding calculation, 

 therefore, requires alteration so far as it relates to the south frigid zone, but this will not 

 affect the general statement of the quantity of land in the northern hemisphere being still 

 vastly greater than that in the southern. 



The waters of the globe circumscribing the land form one great continuous ocean. 

 This is divided by imaginary lines into various parts, to each of which a distinct name is 

 assigned, for the sake of clear and easy reference. The following are five grand 

 divisions: 



