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For the reference to Western culture, please see Western
culture
The Western Hemisphere contains The Americas and nearby
islands. The terminology is meant to serve as an analogy with the natural geographic division of the world into a Northern and Southern Hemisphere. However, it is more a geopolitical rather than a geographical term, and refers mostly to the governments and nations that are located
in the region; there is no physically-based boundary on the planet that actually separates the Western Hemisphere from the rest
of the world, such as the equator which is defined by the rotation of the earth and
which thus separates the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The term Eastern Hemisphere tends to be used much less often than Western Hemisphere.
See also: Prime meridian, International date line.
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