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 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. It is sometimes used interchangably with the Australia (continent), although few key differences exist.

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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Kiribati (/ˌkɪrɪˈbæs/ ^ⓘ KIRR-ih-BASS), officially the Independent and Sovereign Republic of Kiribati (Gilbertese: [Ribaberiki] Kiribati), is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, with more than half living on Tarawa atoll. The state comprises 32 atolls and one remote raised coral island, Banaba. Its total land area is 811 km² (313 sq mi) dispersed over 3,441,810 km² (1,328,890 sq mi) of ocean.

The islands' spread straddles the equator and the 180th meridian, although the International Date Line goes around Kiribati and swings far to the east, almost reaching 150°W. This brings Kiribati's easternmost islands, the southern Line Islands south of Hawaii, into the same day as the Gilbert Islands and places them in the most advanced time zone on Earth: UTC+14. (Full article...)

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Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport (IATA: GUM, ICAO: PGUM), also known as Guam International Airport, is an airport located in Tamuning and Barrigada, three miles (4.8 km) east of the capital city of Hagåtña (formerly Agana) in the United States territory of Guam. The airport is a hub for Asia Pacific Airlines and for United Airlines, serving as the latter's Pacific Ocean hub. It is also the home of the former Naval Air Station Agana, and is the only international airport in the territory. The airport is named after Antonio Borja Won Pat, the first delegate from Guam to the United States House of Representatives, and is operated by the A.B. Won Pat International Airport Authority, Guam (GIAA, Chamorro: Aturidat Puetton Batkon Airen Guahan Entenasionat), an agency of the Government of Guam. (Full article...)

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

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