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 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 other continents, 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...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected geographic article - show another

Landsat satellite image of Lanai

Lanai (Hawaiian: Lānaʻi, Hawaiian: [laːˈnɐʔi, naːˈnɐʔi], /ləˈnaɪ, lɑːˈnɑːi/ lə-NY, lah-NAH-ee, also US: /lɑːˈnaɪ, ləˈnɑːi/ lah-NY, lə-NAH-ee,) is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands and the smallest publicly accessible inhabited island in the chain. It is colloquially known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The island's only settlement of note is the small town of Lanai City. , the island is 98% owned by Larry Ellison, co-founder and chairman of Oracle Corporation; the remaining 2% is owned by the state of Hawaii or individual homeowners.

Lanai is a roughly apostrophe-shaped island with a width of 18 miles (29 km) in the longest direction. The land area is 140.5 square miles (364 km²), making it the 43rd largest island in the United States. It is separated from the island of Molokaʻi by the Kalohi Channel to the north, and from Maui by the Auʻau Channel to the east. The United States Census Bureau defines Lanai as Census Tract 316 of Maui County. Its total population rose to 3,367 as of the 2020 United States census, up from 3,193 as of the 2000 census and 3,131 as of the 2010 census. As visible via satellite imagery, many of the island's landmarks are accessible only by dirt roads that require a four-wheel drive vehicle due to the lack of paved roadways. (Full article...)

List of geographic articles

edit

Related portals

Selected article - show another

The Yuan-Tseh Lee Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy, also known as the Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy (AMiBA), is a radio telescope designed to observe the cosmic microwave background and the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect in clusters of galaxies.

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