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 comprising 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... )
Kiribati ( KIRR -ih-BASS ), officially the Republic of Kiribati (Gilbertese : [Ribaberiki] Kiribati ), is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean . Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, with more than half living on Tarawa atoll . The state comprises 32 atolls and one remote raised coral island , Banaba . Its total land area is 811 km2 (313 sq mi) dispersed over 3,441,810 km2 (1,328,890 sq mi) of ocean .
The islands' spread straddles the
equator and the
180th meridian , although the
International Date Line goes around Kiribati and swings far to the east, almost reaching
150°W . This brings Kiribati's easternmost islands, the southern
Line Islands south of Hawaii, into the same day as the
Gilbert Islands and places them in the most advanced time zone on Earth:
UTC+14 . (For this reason, Kiribati is the only nation on Earth that is located simultaneously in all four hemispheres: northern, southern, western and eastern.) (
Full article... )
List of geographic articles
Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport (
IATA :
GUM ,
ICAO :
PGUM ), also known as
Guam International Airport , is an airport located in
Tamuning and
Barrigada , three miles (4.8 km) east of the capital city of
Hagåtña (formerly Agana) in the United States territory of
Guam . The airport is a hub for
Asia Pacific Airlines and for
United Airlines , serving as the latter's Pacific Ocean hub. It is also the home of the former
Naval Air Station Agana , and is the only international airport in the territory. The airport is named after
Antonio Borja Won Pat , the first
delegate from Guam to the
United States House of Representatives , and is operated by the
A.B. Won Pat International Airport Authority, Guam (GIAA,
Chamorro :
Aturidat Puetton Batkon Airen Guahan Entenasionat ), an agency of the Government of Guam. (
Full article... )
List of selected articles
The following are images from various Oceania-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 On February 14, 1779, Capt.
James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii (from
Polynesia )
Image 2 Cinder plain of
Mount Yasur in
Vanuatu (from
Melanesia )
Image 3 Polynesian (Hawaiian) navigators sailing multi-hulled
canoe , c. 1781 (from
Polynesia )
Image 4 German trading station at
Jaluit Atoll with a Marshallese
korkor outrigger canoe in the foreground (from
Micronesia )
Image 5 Polynesians with
outrigger canoes at
Waikiki Beach ,
Oahu Island , early 20th century (from
Polynesia )
Image 6 Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from
Melanesia )
Image 7 Chronological dispersal of
Austronesian peoples across the
Indo-Pacific (from
Melanesia )
Image 8 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 9 King
Kamehameha I receiving the Russian naval expedition of
Otto von Kotzebue . Drawing by
Louis Choris in 1816. (from
Polynesia )
Image 11 Beach scenery at
Laura ,
Majuro , Marshall Islands (from
Micronesia )
Image 13 Moai at Ahu Tongariki on
Rapa Nui (from
Polynesia )
Image 14 German New Guinea before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899 (from
Micronesia )
Image 15 Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from
Micronesia )
Image 16 A pan flute from
Solomon Islands , 19th century (from
Melanesia )
Image 17 Aerial view of
Solomon Islands (from
Melanesia )
Image 19 Canoe carving on
Nanumea atoll, Tuvalu (from
Polynesia )
Image 20 Micronesia is one of three major cultural areas of the
Pacific Ocean islands , along with
Melanesia and
Polynesia . (from
Micronesia )
Image 21 The Polynesian spread of colonization in the Pacific (from
Polynesia )
Image 23 Languages of Micronesia. (from
Micronesia )
Image 24 Mount Marpi in
Saipan . (from
Micronesia )
Image 25 Kili Island is one of the smallest islands in the
Marshall Islands . (from
Micronesia )
Image 26 Mokoliʻi Isle near
Oahu ,
Hawaii (from
Polynesia )
Image 27 Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from
Polynesia )
Image 28 A
Melanesian child from
Vanuatu (from
Melanesia )
Image 30 Chamorro people in 1915 (from
Micronesia )
Image 32 Carving from the ridgepole of a
Māori house, ca 1840 (from
Polynesia )
Image 34 A depiction of a royal
heiau (Hawaiian temple) at
Kealakekua Bay , c. 1816 (from
Polynesia )
Image 35 Image of the
Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at
Bikini Atoll (from
Micronesia )
Image 36 Subregions (
Melanesia ,
Micronesia ,
Polynesia and
Australasia ), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of
Oceania (from
Micronesia )
Image 37 Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the
Polynesian Triangle . (from
Polynesia )
Image 38 Cook's Bay on
Moorea ,
French Polynesia (from
Polynesia )
Image 39 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 41 Subregions (
Melanesia ,
Micronesia , Polynesia, and
Australasia ), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of
Oceania (from
Polynesia )
Image 42 Painting of
Tahitian Women on the Beach by
Paul Gauguin —
Musée d'Orsay (from
Polynesia )
Image 43 A common fishing canoe
va'a with outrigger in
Savaiʻi island,
Samoa , 2009 (from
Polynesia )
Image 44 Sailors of Melanesia in the
Pacific Ocean , 1846 (from
Melanesia )
Image 45 Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas of the
Pacific Ocean islands , along with
Micronesia and
Polynesia . (from
Melanesia )
Image 46 Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case,
Melanesia (from
Australasia )
Image 47 Chronological dispersal of
Austronesian peoples across the
Indo-Pacific (from
Micronesia )
Image 48 Polynesia is one of three major cultural areas of the
Pacific Ocean islands , along with
Melanesia and
Micronesia . (from
Polynesia )
Image 49 Map of Melanesia, showing its location within Oceania (from
Melanesia )
Image 50 Māori
war canoe drawn after
James Cook 's voyage to New Zealand. (from
Polynesia )
Image 51 The arrival of
Abel Tasman in
Tongatapu , 1643; drawing by
Isaack Gilsemans (from
Polynesia )
Image 52 Grinding stones discovered from
archaeology in Samoa (from
Polynesia )
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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