Which continent is in all four hemispheres?
Quick answer
Africa is the only continent that lies in all four hemispheres: northern, southern, eastern and western. That’s because both the equator (0° latitude) and the prime meridian (0° longitude) cross it, and they meet in the Gulf of Guinea, off Africa’s west coast.
What are the four hemispheres?
Earth is split in half two different ways:
| Dividing line | Halves it creates |
|---|---|
| Equator (0° latitude) | Northern and Southern Hemispheres |
| Prime meridian (0° longitude), through Greenwich, London | Eastern and Western Hemispheres |
A place can be in two hemispheres at once, for example the northern and eastern (most of Europe and Asia).
Why Africa is the answer
- The equator runs through countries such as Gabon, Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Somalia.
- The prime meridian passes through Algeria, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana.
- The point where they cross, 0°, 0°, lies in the Atlantic Ocean in the Gulf of Guinea, about 600 km south of Ghana. It’s sometimes jokingly called “Null Island.”
What about other continents?
| Continent | Hemispheres |
|---|---|
| North America | Northern, western (a tip of Alaska’s Aleutians crosses into the east) |
| South America | Mostly southern and western; the equator crosses its north |
| Europe | Northern; both eastern and western |
| Asia | Northern and eastern, plus some southern islands |
| Australia | Southern and eastern |
| Antarctica | Southern; contains every line of longitude, so it touches both east and west |
Some geographers point out that Antarctica spans east and west but lies entirely in the southern hemisphere, so Africa remains the only continent clearly in all four.
The prime meridian also defines the world’s time zones; see what time it is in London. For a country fully surrounded by another, look up Lesotho.
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