Portal:Oceania

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The Oceania Portal

An orthographic projection of Oceania

Oceania (UK: /ˌoʊsiˈɑːniə, ˌoʊʃi-, -ˈeɪn-/ OH-s(h)ee-AH-nee-ə, -⁠AY-, US: /ˌoʊʃiˈæniə, -ˈɑːn-/ ^ⓘ OH-shee-A(H)N-ee-ə) is a geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Australia is regarded as an island or a continental landmass contained inside of the larger continent of Oceania. 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...)

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From top left: Nieves M. Flores Memorial Library; Skinner Plaza; Former Manuel F.L. Guerrero Administration Building (demolished in 2015); District Court of Guam; and Trinchera Beach on Agana Bay

Hagåtña (/həˈɡɑːtnjə/; Chamorro pronunciation: [hæˈɡɑtɲæ]; formerly in English: Agana /əˈɡɑːnjə/, in Spanish: Agaña) is the capital village of the United States territory of Guam. From the 18th through mid-20th century, it was Guam's population center, but today it is the second smallest of the island's 19 villages in both area and population. However, it remains one of the island's major commercial districts in addition to being the seat of government. (Full article...)

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August 2016 boundary and location

The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) (roughly /pɑːpɑːˈhɑːnaʊmoʊkuˌɑːkeɪ.ə/) is a World Heritage listed U.S. National Monument encompassing 583,000 square miles (1,510,000 km²) of ocean waters, including ten islands and atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It was created in June 2006 with 140,000 square miles (360,000 km²) and expanded in August 2016 by moving its border to the limit of the exclusive economic zone, making it one of the world's largest protected areas. It is internationally known for its cultural and natural values as follows:

The area has deep cosmological and traditional significance for living Native Hawaiian culture, as an ancestral environment, as an embodiment of the Hawaiian concept of kinship between people and the natural world, and as the place where it is believed that life originates and to where the spirits return after death. On two of the islands, Nihoa and Mokumanamana, there are archaeological remains relating to pre-European settlement and use. Much of the monument is made up of pelagic and deepwater habitats, with notable features such as seamounts and submerged banks, extensive coral reefs and lagoons.

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... that Michaela Foster, a New Zealand footballer playing in the 2023 World Cup, is known for her mana?

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The following are images from various Oceania-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Māori war canoe drawn after James Cook's voyage to New Zealand. (from Polynesia)
Image 2Mount Tavurvur in Papua New Guinea (from Melanesia)
Image 3Micronesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Polynesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 4A depiction of a royal heiau (Hawaiian temple) at Kealakekua Bay, c. 1816 (from Polynesia)
Image 5Moai at Ahu Tongariki on Rapa Nui (from Polynesia)
Image 6Kili Island is one of the smallest islands in the Marshall Islands. (from Micronesia)
Image 7Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Polynesia)
Image 8Canoe carving on Nanumea atoll, Tuvalu (from Polynesia)
Image 9German trading station at Jaluit Atoll with a Marshallese korkor outrigger canoe in the foreground (from Micronesia)
Image 10King Kamehameha I receiving the Russian naval expedition of Otto von Kotzebue. Drawing by Louis Choris in 1816. (from Polynesia)
Image 11Languages of Micronesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 12On February 14, 1779, Capt. James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 13Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Polynesia)
Image 14Spinner dolphins (from Micronesia)
Image 15Polynesians with outrigger canoes at Waikiki Beach, Oahu Island, early 20th century (from Polynesia)
Image 16Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Micronesia)
Image 17Painting of Tahitian Women on the Beach by Paul Gauguin—Musée d'Orsay (from Polynesia)
Image 18The arrival of Abel Tasman in Tongatapu, 1643; drawing by Isaack Gilsemans (from Polynesia)
Image 19Cinder plain of Mount Yasur in Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 20Map of Melanesia, showing its location within Oceania (from Melanesia)
Image 21A common fishing canoe va'a with outrigger in Savaiʻi island, Samoa, 2009 (from Polynesia)
Image 22Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Melanesia)
Image 23Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case, Melanesia (from Australasia)
Image 24Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the Polynesian Triangle. (from Polynesia)
Image 25An 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 26New Caledonia (from Melanesia)
Image 27Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Micronesia and Polynesia. (from Melanesia)
Image 28Chamorro people in 1915 (from Micronesia)
Image 29Manila Galleon in the Marianas and Carolinas, c. 1590 Boxer Codex (from Micronesia)
Image 30Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Melanesia)
Image 31Aerial view of Solomon Islands (from Melanesia)
Image 32Beach scenery at Laura, Majuro, Marshall Islands (from Micronesia)
Image 33Image of the Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at Bikini Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 34Map from 1961 of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, formerly Japan's South Seas Mandate. (from Micronesia)
Image 35A Melanesian child from Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 36Polynesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Micronesia. (from Polynesia)
Image 37Köppen-Geiger climate classification map of Melanesia (from Melanesia)
Image 38Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa from 1998 to 2021, who initiated the Polynesian Leaders Group in late 2011. (from Polynesia)
Image 39German New Guinea before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899 (from Micronesia)
Image 40Grinding stones discovered from archaeology in Samoa (from Polynesia)
Image 41Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Micronesia)
Image 42A pan flute from Solomon Islands, 19th century (from Melanesia)
Image 43Polynesian (Hawaiian) navigators sailing multi-hulled canoe, c. 1781 (from Polynesia)
Image 44Cook's Bay on Moorea, French Polynesia (from Polynesia)
Image 45Tarawa Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 46Map 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 47Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Micronesia)
Image 48Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 (from Polynesia)
Image 49Mokoliʻi Isle near Oahu, Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 50The Polynesian spread of colonization in the Pacific (from Polynesia)
Image 51Mount Marpi in Saipan. (from Micronesia)
Image 52Sailors of Melanesia in the Pacific Ocean, 1846 (from Melanesia)