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 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... )
New Hebrides , officially the New Hebrides Condominium (French : Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides , lit. "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago , was the colonial name for the island group in the South Pacific Ocean that is now Vanuatu . Native people had inhabited the islands for three thousand years before the first Europeans arrived in 1606 from a Spanish expedition led by Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós . The islands were named by Captain James Cook in 1774 and subsequently colonised by both the British and the French.
The two countries eventually signed an agreement making the islands an Anglo-French
condominium that provided for joint sovereignty over the archipelago with two parallel administrations, one British, one French. In some respects, that divide continued even after independence, with schools teaching in either one language or the other. The condominium lasted from 1906 until 1980, when New Hebrides gained its independence as the
Republic of Vanuatu . (
Full article... )
List of geographic articles
Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (IATA : HNL , ICAO : PHNL , FAA LID : HNL ), also known as Honolulu International Airport , is the main and largest airport in Hawaii . The airport is named after Honolulu native and Medal of Honor recipient Daniel Inouye , who represented Hawaii in the United States Senate from 1963 until his death in 2012. The airport is in the Honolulu census-designated place 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Honolulu's central business district. The airport covers 4,220 acres (1,708 ha), more than 1% of Oahu 's land.
Daniel K. Inouye Airport offers nonstop flights to many places in North America, Asia, and
Oceania . The airport serves as the main hub of
Hawaiian Airlines and is also a base for
Aloha Air Cargo . The airport is included in the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021, in which it is
categorized as a large-hub primary commercial service facility. (
Full article... )
List of selected articles
The following are images from various Oceania-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the
Polynesian Triangle . (from
Polynesia )
Image 2 Chronological dispersal of
Austronesian peoples across the
Indo-Pacific (from
Micronesia )
Image 3 Languages of Micronesia. (from
Micronesia )
Image 4 Cinder plain of
Mount Yasur in
Vanuatu (from
Melanesia )
Image 5 A
Melanesian child from
Vanuatu (from
Melanesia )
Image 6 Subregions (
Melanesia ,
Micronesia ,
Polynesia and
Australasia ), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of
Oceania (from
Micronesia )
Image 8 Aerial view of
Solomon Islands (from
Melanesia )
Image 9 Map of Melanesia, showing its location within Oceania (from
Melanesia )
Image 10 Chronological dispersal of
Austronesian peoples across the
Indo-Pacific (from
Melanesia )
Image 11 A common fishing canoe
va'a with outrigger in
Savaiʻi island,
Samoa , 2009 (from
Polynesia )
Image 12 Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case,
Melanesia (from
Australasia )
Image 13 A pan flute from
Solomon Islands , 19th century (from
Melanesia )
Image 14 Mokoliʻi Isle near
Oahu ,
Hawaii (from
Polynesia )
Image 15 Painting of
Tahitian Women on the Beach by
Paul Gauguin —
Musée d'Orsay (from
Polynesia )
Image 16 Beach scenery at
Laura ,
Majuro , Marshall Islands (from
Micronesia )
Image 17 Polynesian (Hawaiian) navigators sailing multi-hulled
canoe , c. 1781 (from
Polynesia )
Image 18 The Polynesian spread of colonization in the Pacific (from
Polynesia )
Image 19 Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from
Micronesia )
Image 20 Image of the
Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at
Bikini Atoll (from
Micronesia )
Image 21 A depiction of a royal
heiau (Hawaiian temple) at
Kealakekua Bay , c. 1816 (from
Polynesia )
Image 22 Subregions (
Melanesia ,
Micronesia , Polynesia, and
Australasia ), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of
Oceania (from
Polynesia )
Image 24 Māori
war canoe drawn after
James Cook 's voyage to New Zealand. (from
Polynesia )
Image 25 Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from
Polynesia )
Image 26 Polynesia is one of three major cultural areas of the
Pacific Ocean islands , along with
Melanesia and
Micronesia . (from
Polynesia )
Image 29 Sailors of Melanesia in the
Pacific Ocean , 1846 (from
Melanesia )
Image 30 On February 14, 1779, Capt.
James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii (from
Polynesia )
Image 31 Chamorro people in 1915 (from
Micronesia )
Image 32 Kili Island is one of the smallest islands in the
Marshall Islands . (from
Micronesia )
Image 34 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 35 Carving from the ridgepole of a
Māori house, ca 1840 (from
Polynesia )
Image 36 Cook's Bay on
Moorea ,
French Polynesia (from
Polynesia )
Image 37 German trading station at
Jaluit Atoll with a Marshallese
korkor outrigger canoe in the foreground (from
Micronesia )
Image 38 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 40 Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from
Melanesia )
Image 41 Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas of the
Pacific Ocean islands , along with
Micronesia and
Polynesia . (from
Melanesia )
Image 42 German New Guinea before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899 (from
Micronesia )
Image 43 The arrival of
Abel Tasman in
Tongatapu , 1643; drawing by
Isaack Gilsemans (from
Polynesia )
Image 44 Micronesia is one of three major cultural areas of the
Pacific Ocean islands , along with
Melanesia and
Polynesia . (from
Micronesia )
Image 45 Polynesians with
outrigger canoes at
Waikiki Beach ,
Oahu Island , early 20th century (from
Polynesia )
Image 47 King
Kamehameha I receiving the Russian naval expedition of
Otto von Kotzebue . Drawing by
Louis Choris in 1816. (from
Polynesia )
Image 48 Grinding stones discovered from
archaeology in Samoa (from
Polynesia )
Image 50 Mount Marpi in
Saipan . (from
Micronesia )
Image 51 Moai at Ahu Tongariki on
Rapa Nui (from
Polynesia )
Image 52 Canoe carving on
Nanumea atoll, Tuvalu (from
Polynesia )
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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