<p>It's a moot point, and probably varies somewhat according to the state of the tide. Visually, however, the 'pole of maximum ocean' is about half-way between two atolls in the south Pacific: Tautua, 9&deg;00' S; 157&deg;58' W, and Starbuck Island, 5&deg;38' S; 155&deg;53' W. (Not that I wish to give overpriced and over-rated coffee any undue publicity!). </p>

<p>By the same token, the pole of maximum land must be 180 degrees different in lat and long  - I leave you to figure that out :-)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-24T06:29:17.703Z
@BarryCarter, [this Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_and_water_hemispheres) is a great resource, and includes values.
JeopardyTempest
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-24T07:05:34.527Z
Coincidentally, I wasn't convinced of Gordon's idea that the maximum land and maximum ocean must be antipodal.  But for those uncertain, since you have a set ocean and land area, if you find the hemisphere with the maximum ocean, then by definition the other hemisphere must have the minimum ocean.  And if it has the minimum ocean, it has the maximum land.  Sorry if that's obvious to people, but it wasn't to me for whatever reason!
JeopardyTempest
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-24T13:55:54.577Z
@JeopardyTempest -- The wikipedia article puts the location at a markedly different spot (47°13′S, 178°28′E) than the one in Gordon Stanger's answer. The wikipedia article pretty much agrees with multiple other sources.
David Hammen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-21T14:07:27.523Z
2016-07-05T02:41:06.910Z
2016-07-05T02:41:06.910Z
Gordon Stanger
<p>You would have to cut somewhere along this circle:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/bpm2E.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/bpm2E.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>The only landmass here is New Zealand, eastern Australia, eastern PNG, western North America and some Pacific islands. I'm pretty sure you can tweak it a bit, but that's the basic idea.
Notice that this actually shows less than a half because of the relatively low altitude. If you "zoom out" infinitely you'll get some more Australia and more America in this, but it's still going to be mostly ocean.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-21T10:37:12.200Z
2016-06-21T10:37:12.200Z
Gimelist
<p>About 71% of the Earth's surface is covered with water and the remaining 29% is landmass<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth" rel="noreferrer">*</a>. If you could theoretically cut the planet in half, with the objective of producing a half with the most landmass possible (and another with the most water possible), where would the cut be? More specifically, where would the centers (in the surface) of both halves be located?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-21T01:38:01.270Z
The Pacific Ocean should figure prominently in the answer to this.
Daniel Griscom
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-21T09:30:31.743Z
What's the actual real-world problem that you are trying to solve here?
410 gone
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-21T12:07:57.623Z
Of course, but where would the centers of both halves be exactly located? (Specially the one with most landmass)
Gabe12
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-14T09:02:08.150Z
@Daniel or alternatively Eurasia\Africa.
JeopardyTempest
<geography><land-surface><earth-system><ocean-models><land-surface-models>
Half of Earth with most landmass
Gabe12
# Half of Earth with most landmass

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-06-21)

About 71% of the Earth's surface is covered with water and the remaining 29% is landmass[\*](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth). If you could theoretically cut the planet in half, with the objective of producing a half with the most landmass possible (and another with the most water possible), where would the cut be? More specifically, where would the centers (in the surface) of both halves be located?

**Tags:** geography, land-surface, earth-system, ocean-models, land-surface-models

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The Pacific Ocean should figure prominently in the answer to this.  
> **username_2**: What's the actual real-world problem that you are trying to solve here?  
> **username_0**: Of course, but where would the centers of both halves be exactly located? (Specially the one with most landmass)  
> **username_3**: @username_1 or alternatively Eurasia\Africa.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2016-06-21. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

It's a moot point, and probably varies somewhat according to the state of the tide. Visually, however, the 'pole of maximum ocean' is about half-way between two atolls in the south Pacific: Tautua, 9°00' S; 157°58' W, and Starbuck Island, 5°38' S; 155°53' W. (Not that I wish to give overpriced and over-rated coffee any undue publicity!).

By the same token, the pole of maximum land must be 180 degrees different in lat and long - I leave you to figure that out :-)

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: @BarryCarter, [this Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_and_water_hemispheres) is a great resource, and includes values.  
> **username_3**: Coincidentally, I wasn't convinced of username_4's idea that the maximum land and maximum ocean must be antipodal.  But for those uncertain, since you have a set ocean and land area, if you find the hemisphere with the maximum ocean, then by definition the other hemisphere must have the minimum ocean.  And if it has the minimum ocean, it has the maximum land.  Sorry if that's obvious to people, but it wasn't to me for whatever reason!  
> **username_5**: @username_3 -- The wikipedia article puts the location at a markedly different spot (47°13′S, 178°28′E) than the one in username_4 username_4's answer. The wikipedia article pretty much agrees with multiple other sources.  

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### Answer by username_6 on 2016-06-21. Score: 8

You would have to cut somewhere along this circle:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/bpm2E.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/bpm2E.jpg)

The only landmass here is New Zealand, eastern Australia, eastern PNG, western North America and some Pacific islands. I'm pretty sure you can tweak it a bit, but that's the basic idea.
Notice that this actually shows less than a half because of the relatively low altitude. If you "zoom out" infinitely you'll get some more Australia and more America in this, but it's still going to be mostly ocean.


---

