The Western Hemisphere, also Western hemisphere or western hemisphere, is a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian (which crosses Greenwich in London, England, United Kingdom) and east of the International Date Line. It is also used, mainly by Americans, to specifically refer to the Americas (or the New World) and adjacent waters, while excluding other territories that lie geographically in the hemisphere (parts of Africa, Europe, Antarctica, and Asia). Thus this is sometimes referred to as the American hemisphere, despite the fact that it is by no means a hemisphere. Olson, Judy M. "blank">Projecting the hemisphere", ch. 4 from Matching the map projection to the need; Robinson, Arthur H. & Snyder, John P., eds. 1997. Bethesda, MD: Cartography and Geographic Information Society, American Congress on Surveying and Mapping. Western hemisphere is sometimes used as an equivalent for the geopolitical construct, the _Western World, which typically includes America and Europe.