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The 'Southern Hemisphere' or 'southern hemisphere'^[1] is the half of a planet that is south of the equator—the word ''hemisphere'' literally means 'half ball'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere south of the celestial equator.
Earth's southern hemisphere contains five continents (Antarctica, Australia, most of South America, parts of Africa and of Asia), and four oceans (South Atlantic, Indian, South Pacific, and Southern). Due to the tilt of Earth's rotation relative to the Sun and the ecliptic plane, Summer is December 21 through March 21 and winter is June 21 through to September 21.

Contents

Geography

List of continents and countries

Continents

African countries

Asian countries

Indian Ocean countries

Oceania countries

South American countries

Other territories

See also

References

Geography

Climates in the southern hemisphere tend to be slightly milder than those in the northern hemisphere. This is because the southern hemisphere has significantly more ocean and less land. Water heats up and cools down more slowly than land. The southern hemisphere is also significantly less polluted than the northern hemisphere because of lower overall population densities (a total of 10 to 12% of the human population), lower levels of industrialisation, and smaller land masses (air currents run mostly west–east so pollution does not easily spread north or south).
In the southern hemisphere the sun passes from east to west through the north, although north of the tropic of Capricorn the mean Sun can be directly overhead or due south at midday. The sun rotating to the north causes sun-cast shadows to turn anticlockwise through the day (sun dials have the hours in reverse). Hurricanes and tropical storms spin clockwise in the southern hemisphere (as opposed to counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere) due to the Coriolis effect. A fact often missed is that in the southern hemisphere, the Moon appears to be upside-down compared to the view from the northern hemisphere, or, for people in the south, the northerners have an upside-down image of it.
The southern temperate zone, a subsection of the southern hemisphere, is nearly all oceanic. The only countries that lie entirely within this zone are Uruguay, Lesotho and New Zealand. Countries lying partly in the zone are Chile (most of), Argentina (most of), Paraguay, Brazil, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa (most of), Mozambique, Madagascar and Australia.
The south pole is oriented towards the galactic centre and this, combined with clearer skies, makes for excellent viewing of the night sky from the southern hemisphere, with brighter and more numerous stars.

List of continents and countries

Continents

★ Antarctica

★ Africa (approximately 1/3 of it - from south of Libreville in Gabon in the west to south of Somalia in the east)

★ Australia

★ South America (mostly, south of the Amazon river mouth in the east and Quito in the west)

African countries

;Entirely

★ Angola

★ Botswana

★ Burundi

★ Comores

★ Lesotho

★ Malawi

★ Mozambique

★ Namibia

★ Rwanda

★ South Africa

★ Swaziland

★ Tanzania

★ Zambia

★ Zimbabwe
;Mostly

★ Democratic Republic of Congo

★ Gabon

★ Republic of the Congo
;Partly

★ Equatorial Guinea

★ Kenya

★ Somalia

★ São Tomé and Príncipe

★ Uganda

Asian countries

;Entirely

★ East Timor
;Mostly

★ Indonesia

Indian Ocean countries

;Entirely

★ Madagascar

★ Mauritius

★ Seychelles
;Partly

★ Maldives

Oceania countries

;Entirely

★ Australia

★ Cook Islands

★ Easter Island

★ Fiji

★ Nauru

★ New Zealand

★ Niue

★ Papua New Guinea

★ Pitcairn

★ Samoa

★ Solomon Islands

★ Tahiti

★ Tokelau

★ Tonga

★ Tuvalu

★ Vanuatu
;Mostly

★ Kiribati

South American countries

;Entirely

★ Argentina

★ Bolivia

★ Chile

★ Paraguay

★ Peru

★ Uruguay
;Mostly

★ Brazil

★ Ecuador
;Partly

★ Colombia

Other territories

★ American Samoa (USA) ★ Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands ★ Bouvet Island (Norway) ★ Chagos Archipelago (United Kingdom) ★ Easter Island (Chile) ★ Falkland Islands (United Kingdom) ★ French Polynesia (France) ★ Galápagos Islands (Ecuador) ★ Jarvis Island (USA) ★ Juan Fernández Islands (Chile) ★ Kerguelen Islands (France) ★ Kermadec Islands (New Zealand) ★ Mayotte (France) ★ New Caledonia (France)

★ New Zealand sub-antarctic islands (New Zealand) ★ Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands (United Kingdom) ★ Réunion (France) ★ Saint Helena (United Kingdom) ★ Saint Paul island and Amsterdam island (France) ★ South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (United Kingdom, claimed by Argentina) ★ South Orkney Islands (Antarctic Treaty signatories) ★ Swains Island (USA, claimed by Tokelau) ★ Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom) ★ Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies (France) ★ Territory of Wallis and Futuna Islands (France)

See also

★ Northern Hemisphere

★ Seasons

★ Solstice

★ Equinox

★ Tropic of Capricorn

★ Crux (or Southern Cross)

References

1. ''Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary'' (based on Collegiate vol., 11th ed.) 2006. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc.