An orthographic projection of Oceania
Oceania ( OH -s(h)ee-AH -nee-ə, -AY - , OH -shee-A(H)N -ee-ə ) is a geographical region including Australasia , Melanesia , Micronesia , and Polynesia . Spanning the Eastern and Western Hemispheres , at the centre of the water hemisphere , Oceania is estimated to have a land area of about 9,000,000 square kilometres (3,500,000 sq mi) and a population of around 44.4 million as of 2022. When compared to the continents (which it is often compared to, not including Australia), Oceania is the smallest in land area and the second-least populated after Antarctica .
Oceania has a diverse mix of economies from the highly developed and globally competitive financial markets of Australia , French Polynesia , Hawaii , New Caledonia , and New Zealand , which rank high in quality of life and Human Development Index , to the much less developed economies of Kiribati , Papua New Guinea , Tuvalu , Vanuatu , and Western New Guinea , while also including medium-sized economies of Pacific islands such as Fiji , Palau , and Tonga . The largest and most populous country in Oceania is Australia, and the largest city is Sydney. Puncak Jaya in Highland Papua , Indonesia , is the highest peak in Oceania at 4,884 m (16,024 ft).
The arrival of European settlers in subsequent centuries resulted in a significant alteration in the social and political landscape of Oceania. The Pacific theatre saw major action during the First World War with the Japanese occupying many German territories. During the Second World War , Allied powers the United States , Philippines (a U.S. Commonwealth at the time) and Australia fought against Axis power Japan across various locations in Oceania. (Full article... )
Map of the Federated States of Micronesia. Palau is to the west of the map.
The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines ) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean , to the north of New Guinea . Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the central and eastern parts of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end. Historically, this area was also called Nuevas Filipinas or New Philippines , because they were part of the Spanish East Indies and were governed from Manila in the Philippines .
The Carolines are scattered across a distance of approximately 3,540 kilometres (1,910 nmi), from the westernmost island,
Tobi , in Palau, to the easternmost island,
Kosrae , a
state of the FSM . (
Full article... )
List of geographic articles
United States Marines rest in the field during the Guadalcanal campaign.
The Guadalcanal campaign , also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theater of World War II . It was the first major land offensive by Allied forces against the Empire of Japan .
On 7 August 1942, Allied forces, predominantly
United States Marines , landed on Guadalcanal,
Tulagi , and
Florida Island in the southern
Solomon Islands , with the objective of using Guadalcanal and Tulagi as bases in supporting a campaign to eventually capture or neutralize the major Japanese base at
Rabaul on
New Britain . The Japanese defenders, who had occupied those islands since May 1942, were outnumbered and overwhelmed by the Allies, who captured Tulagi and Florida, as well as the airfield—later named
Henderson Field —that was under construction on Guadalcanal. (
Full article... )
List of selected articles
The following are images from various Oceania-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 A
Melanesian child from
Vanuatu (from
Melanesia )
Image 2 Map of Melanesia, showing its location within Oceania (from
Melanesia )
Image 3 Micronesia is one of three major cultural areas of the
Pacific Ocean islands , along with
Melanesia and
Polynesia . (from
Micronesia )
Image 4 A pan flute from
Solomon Islands , 19th century (from
Melanesia )
Image 5 Māori
war canoe drawn after
James Cook 's voyage to New Zealand. (from
Polynesia )
Image 6 The arrival of
Abel Tasman in
Tongatapu , 1643; drawing by
Isaack Gilsemans (from
Polynesia )
Image 7 An illustration of the Cross Spikes Club of the US Navy on
Bikini Atoll , one of several Marshall Islands used for
atomic bomb tests . (from
Micronesia )
Image 8 King
Kamehameha I receiving the Russian naval expedition of
Otto von Kotzebue . Drawing by
Louis Choris in 1816. (from
Polynesia )
Image 9 Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the
Polynesian Triangle . (from
Polynesia )
Image 10 Cook's Bay on
Moorea ,
French Polynesia (from
Polynesia )
Image 11 Polynesians with
outrigger canoes at
Waikiki Beach ,
Oahu Island , early 20th century (from
Polynesia )
Image 12 Subregions (
Melanesia ,
Micronesia , Polynesia, and
Australasia ), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of
Oceania (from
Polynesia )
Image 13 The Polynesian spread of colonization in the Pacific (from
Polynesia )
Image 14 Subregions (
Melanesia ,
Micronesia ,
Polynesia and
Australasia ), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of
Oceania (from
Micronesia )
Image 15 Cinder plain of
Mount Yasur in
Vanuatu (from
Melanesia )
Image 17 Kili Island is one of the smallest islands in the
Marshall Islands . (from
Micronesia )
Image 18 Canoe carving on
Nanumea atoll, Tuvalu (from
Polynesia )
Image 19 Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas of the
Pacific Ocean islands , along with
Micronesia and
Polynesia . (from
Melanesia )
Image 20 Polynesian (Hawaiian) navigators sailing multi-hulled
canoe , c. 1781 (from
Polynesia )
Image 21 Map showing the migration and expansion of the
Austronesians which began at about 3000 BC from
Taiwan . The Polynesian branch is shown in green. (from
Polynesia )
Image 23 Languages of Micronesia. (from
Micronesia )
Image 24 Chronological dispersal of
Austronesian peoples across the
Indo-Pacific (from
Micronesia )
Image 25 A common fishing canoe
va'a with outrigger in
Savaiʻi island,
Samoa , 2009 (from
Polynesia )
Image 27 Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from
Melanesia )
Image 28 Polynesia is one of three major cultural areas of the
Pacific Ocean islands , along with
Melanesia and
Micronesia . (from
Polynesia )
Image 29 Sailors of Melanesia in the
Pacific Ocean , 1846 (from
Melanesia )
Image 30 Chronological dispersal of
Austronesian peoples across the
Indo-Pacific (from
Melanesia )
Image 31 German trading station at
Jaluit Atoll with a Marshallese
korkor outrigger canoe in the foreground (from
Micronesia )
Image 32 Image of the
Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at
Bikini Atoll (from
Micronesia )
Image 33 Beach scenery at
Laura ,
Majuro , Marshall Islands (from
Micronesia )
Image 34 A depiction of a royal
heiau (Hawaiian temple) at
Kealakekua Bay , c. 1816 (from
Polynesia )
Image 35 Mount Marpi in
Saipan . (from
Micronesia )
Image 36 Mokoliʻi Isle near
Oahu ,
Hawaii (from
Polynesia )
Image 37 German New Guinea before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899 (from
Micronesia )
Image 38 Carving from the ridgepole of a
Māori house, ca 1840 (from
Polynesia )
Image 39 Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from
Micronesia )
Image 41 Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from
Polynesia )
Image 42 Chamorro people in 1915 (from
Micronesia )
Image 43 Painting of
Tahitian Women on the Beach by
Paul Gauguin —
Musée d'Orsay (from
Polynesia )
Image 45 Grinding stones discovered from
archaeology in Samoa (from
Polynesia )
Image 48 On February 14, 1779, Capt.
James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii (from
Polynesia )
Image 49 Moai at Ahu Tongariki on
Rapa Nui (from
Polynesia )
Image 50 Aerial view of
Solomon Islands (from
Melanesia )
Image 51 Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case,
Melanesia (from
Australasia )
Australasia Melanesia Micronesia Polynesia
Adamstown , Pitcairn Islands 6
Alofi , Niue 7
Apia , Samoa
Avarua , Cook Islands 7
Fakaofo , Tokelau 8
Funafuti , Tuvalu
Mata Utu , Wallis and Futuna (de facto)2
Nukuʻalofa , Tonga
Pago Pago , American Samoa 4
Papeete , French Polynesia 2
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