56 



GENERAL VIEWS OF THE GLOBE. 



DESCRIPTIVE GEOGRAPHY. 



. CHAPTER I. GENERAL VIEWS OF THE GLOBE. 



1. J^orthern and Southern Hemispheres. The terraqueous globe is divided by the equator 

 into two equal parts, called the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. But the slightest glance 

 at a map of the world will show, that there is a much greater accumulation of dry land in the 

 former than in the latter ; recent voyages have, indeed, shown, that this inequality is not so great 

 as was thought by geographers of the last century, large masses of land having been discovered 

 in the Antarctic Seas, and the northern coasts of Asia and America having been shown not to 

 extend so far north as was once supposed. The following statement will show the comparative 

 distribution of land and water in the two hemispheres. If we divide the whole surface of the 

 earth into 1000 parts, we shall find 



Land. Water. 

 266 parts. 734 parts. 



68-7 " 431-3 " 



197-2 " 302-8 " 



In the whole sphere, 

 Southern Hemisphere, 

 Northern Hemisphere, 



The whole of Asia, Europe, and North America, much the greater part of Africa, and a 

 part of South America, lie north of the equator, and large masses of land advance to within 

 25 degrees of the north pole, and considerable tracts much nearer. While only a small portion 

 of Africa, with New Holland, the bulk of South x\merica, and some islands, rise above the 



waters in the south. 

 There is, indeed, a much 

 larger tract about the 

 south than around the 

 north pole, that has not 

 been explored, and it ia 

 now ascertained that an 

 Antarctic continent lies 

 in that quarter. Amer- 

 ica reaches only to 56° 

 South Lat., Africa to 

 34°, and New Holland 

 to 45°, while on the 

 north, Asia, Europe, 

 and America, project 

 above the 70th parallel 

 of latitude. 



2. Eastern and West- 

 ern Hemisphere. The 

 two great continents of 

 which the land is com- 

 posed, are commonly so 

 projected on maps as to 

 form two separate hemi- 

 spheres. The eastern 

 then includes, in addi- 

 tion to the continental 

 portion. New Holland 

 and the islands around 

 Eastern Hemisphere. it ; and the western com-- 



