The Oceania Portal
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... )
The granite peak of Mount Wilhelm
Mount Wilhelm (German : Wilhelmsberg ) is the highest mountain in Papua New Guinea at 4,509 metres (14,793 ft). It is part of the Bismarck Range and the peak is the point where three provinces, Chimbu , Jiwaka and Madang , meet. The peak is also known as Enduwa Kombuglu , or Kombugl'o Dimbin , in the local Kuman language .
The mountain is on the island of
New Guinea , which incorporates
Papua New Guinea and the
Indonesian province of
Papua . It is surpassed by
Puncak Jaya , 4,884 m (16,024 ft), and several other peaks in Indonesian Papua. (
Full article... )
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Captain James Cook FRS (7 November [O.S. 27 October] 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, cartographer and naval officer famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and to New Zealand and Australia in particular. He made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand.
Cook joined the British merchant navy as a teenager and joined the Royal Navy in 1755. He served during the
Seven Years' War and subsequently surveyed and mapped much of the entrance to the
St. Lawrence River during the
siege of Quebec , which brought him to the attention of the
Admiralty and the
Royal Society . This acclaim came at a crucial moment for the direction of British overseas exploration, and it led to his commission in 1768 as commander of
HMS Endeavour for the first of three Pacific voyages. (
Full article... )
List of selected articles
The following are images from various Oceania-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 2 Polynesians with
outrigger canoes at
Waikiki Beach ,
Oahu Island , early 20th century (from
Polynesia )
Image 3 A pan flute from
Solomon Islands , 19th century (from
Melanesia )
Image 5 Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the
Polynesian Triangle . (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 Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case,
Melanesia (from
Australasia )
Image 9 Subregions (
Melanesia ,
Micronesia , Polynesia, and
Australasia ), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of
Oceania (from
Polynesia )
Image 10 Mokoliʻi Isle near
Oahu ,
Hawaii (from
Polynesia )
Image 13 Sailors of Melanesia in the
Pacific Ocean , 1846 (from
Melanesia )
Image 14 Polynesia is one of three major cultural areas of the
Pacific Ocean islands , along with
Melanesia and
Micronesia . (from
Polynesia )
Image 15 Chronological dispersal of
Austronesian peoples across the
Indo-Pacific (from
Micronesia )
Image 16 A common fishing canoe
va'a with outrigger in
Savaiʻi island,
Samoa , 2009 (from
Polynesia )
Image 17 Image of the
Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at
Bikini Atoll (from
Micronesia )
Image 18 The Polynesian spread of colonization in the Pacific (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 Cook's Bay on
Moorea ,
French Polynesia (from
Polynesia )
Image 21 Polynesian (Hawaiian) navigators sailing multi-hulled
canoe , c. 1781 (from
Polynesia )
Image 22 Painting of
Tahitian Women on the Beach by
Paul Gauguin —
Musée d'Orsay (from
Polynesia )
Image 23 Carving from the ridgepole of a
Māori house, ca 1840 (from
Polynesia )
Image 24 Subregions (
Melanesia ,
Micronesia ,
Polynesia and
Australasia ), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of
Oceania (from
Micronesia )
Image 25 Grinding stones discovered from
archaeology in Samoa (from
Polynesia )
Image 26 Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from
Polynesia )
Image 27 Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from
Micronesia )
Image 28 Languages of Micronesia. (from
Micronesia )
Image 29 King
Kamehameha I receiving the Russian naval expedition of
Otto von Kotzebue . Drawing by
Louis Choris in 1816. (from
Polynesia )
Image 30 Micronesia is one of three major cultural areas of the
Pacific Ocean islands , along with
Melanesia and
Polynesia . (from
Micronesia )
Image 31 Cinder plain of
Mount Yasur in
Vanuatu (from
Melanesia )
Image 32 A depiction of a royal
heiau (Hawaiian temple) at
Kealakekua Bay , c. 1816 (from
Polynesia )
Image 33 Mount Marpi in
Saipan . (from
Micronesia )
Image 34 German New Guinea before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899 (from
Micronesia )
Image 35 Chamorro people in 1915 (from
Micronesia )
Image 38 Aerial view of
Solomon Islands (from
Melanesia )
Image 39 Kili Island is one of the smallest islands in the
Marshall Islands . (from
Micronesia )
Image 40 On February 14, 1779, Capt.
James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii (from
Polynesia )
Image 41 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 42 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 44 Beach scenery at
Laura ,
Majuro , Marshall Islands (from
Micronesia )
Image 45 German trading station at
Jaluit Atoll with a Marshallese
korkor outrigger canoe in the foreground (from
Micronesia )
Image 46 A
Melanesian child from
Vanuatu (from
Melanesia )
Image 47 Moai at Ahu Tongariki on
Rapa Nui (from
Polynesia )
Image 48 Māori
war canoe drawn after
James Cook 's voyage to New Zealand. (from
Polynesia )
Image 49 Map of Melanesia, showing its location within Oceania (from
Melanesia )
Image 50 The arrival of
Abel Tasman in
Tongatapu , 1643; drawing by
Isaack Gilsemans (from
Polynesia )
Image 51 Canoe carving on
Nanumea atoll, Tuvalu (from
Polynesia )
Topics
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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