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 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...)

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American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island country of Samoa, east of the International Date Line and the Wallis and Futuna Islands, west of the Cook Islands, north of Tonga, and some 310 miles (500 km) south of Tokelau. American Samoa is the southernmost territory of the United States, situated 2,200 miles (3,500 km) southwest of the U.S. state of Hawaii, and one of two U.S. territories south of the Equator, along with the uninhabited Jarvis Island.

American Samoa consists of the eastern part of the Samoan archipelago—the inhabited volcanic islands of Tutuila, Aunuʻu, Ofu, Olosega and Taʻū and the uninhabited Rose Atoll—as well as Swains Island, a remote coral atoll in the Tokelau volcanic island group. The total land area is 77 square miles (199 km²), slightly larger than Washington, D.C.; including its territorial waters, the total area is 117,500 square miles (304,000 km²), about the size of New Zealand. American Samoa has a tropical climate, with 90 percent of its land covered by rainforests. As of 2024, the population is approximately 47,400 and concentrated on Tutuila, which hosts the capital and largest settlement, Pago Pago. The vast majority of residents are indigenous ethnic Samoans, most of whom are fluent in the official languages, English and Samoan. (Full article...)

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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...)

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