Portal:Oceania

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

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 including the United States, the Philippines (a U.S. Commonwealth at the time), and Australia fought against Axis power Japan across various locations in Oceania. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected geographic article - show another

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

edit

Related portals

Selected article - show another

German Samoa (German: Deutsch-Samoa; Samoan: Siamani-Sāmoa) was a German protectorate from 1900 to 1920, consisting of the islands of Upolu, Savai'i, Apolima and Manono, now wholly within the Independent State of Samoa, formerly Western Samoa. Samoa was the last German colonial acquisition in the Pacific basin, received following the Tripartite Convention signed at Washington on 2 December 1899 with ratifications exchanged on 16 February 1900. It was the only German colony in the Pacific, aside from the Jiaozhou Bay Leased Territory in China, that was administered separately from German New Guinea. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Did you know - load new batch

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

General images - load new batch

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

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