Portal:Oceania

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The Oceania Portal

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Oceania (UK: /ˌoʊsiˈɑːniə, ˌoʊʃi-, -ˈeɪn-/, US: /ˌoʊʃiˈæniə/ (listen), /-ˈɑːn-/) is a geographical region that is described as a continent in some parts of the world. It includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of 8,525,989 square kilometres (3,291,903 sq mi) and a population of around 44.4 million as of 2022. Oceania is described as a geographical region in most of the English-speaking world, but outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is described as one of the continents. In this model of the world, Australia is only seen as an island nation contained inside of the continent of Oceania, and not a continent by itself. 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 Second World War, mainly between Allied powers the United States, Philippines (a U.S. Commonwealth at the time) and Australia, and Axis power Japan. The rock art of Aboriginal Australians is the longest continuously practiced artistic tradition in the world. Most Oceanian countries are multi-party representative parliamentary democracies, with tourism being a large source of income for the Pacific Islands nations. (Full article...)

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Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania

Melanesia (UK: /ˌmɛləˈniːziə/, US: /ˌmɛləˈniːʒə/) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from New Guinea in the west to the Fiji Islands in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.

The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea. It also includes the Indonesian part of New Guinea, the French oversea collectivity of New Caledonia, and the Torres Strait Islands. Almost all of the region is in the Southern Hemisphere; only a few small islands that are not politically considered part of Oceania—specifically the northwestern islands of Western New Guinea—lie in the Northern Hemisphere. (Full article...)

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Hurricane Ioke, also referred to as Typhoon Ioke, was a record breaking, long-lived and extremely powerful storm that traversed the Pacific for 17 days, reaching the equivalent of Category 5 status on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale on three different occasions. It was the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Central Pacific, as well as the fifth-most intense Pacific hurricane on record, tied with 1973's Hurricane Ava. It also generated the most Accumulated Cyclone Energy for a single storm, until that record was broken by Cyclone Freddy in 2023. Ioke was the ninth named storm, fifth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the active 2006 Pacific hurricane season.

The cyclone developed in the Intertropical Convergence Zone on August 20 far to the south of Hawaii. Encountering warm waters, little wind shear, and well-defined outflow, Ioke intensified from a tropical depression to Category 4 status within 48 hours. Late on August 22, it rapidly weakened to Category 2 status before crossing over Johnston Atoll. Two days later, favorable conditions again allowed for rapid strengthening, and Ioke attained Category 5 status on August 25 before crossing the International Date Line. As it continued westward, its intensity fluctuated, and on August 31, it passed near Wake Island with winds of 155 mph (250 km/h). Ioke gradually weakened as it turned northwestward and northward, and by September 6, it had transitioned into an extratropical cyclone. The remnants of Ioke accelerated northeastward and ultimately crossed into the Bering Sea, and then the Gulf of Alaska. (Full article...)

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... that Elvis Presley's concert Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite took place at midnight in Hawaii to match the prime time of its target audience in Asia and Oceania?

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

Image 1Mount Marpi in Saipan. (from Micronesia)
Image 2Aerial view of Solomon Islands. (from Melanesia)
Image 3Cinder plain of Mount Yasur in Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 4Mount Tavurvur in Papua New Guinea (from Melanesia)
Image 5An 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 6The Polynesian spread of colonization in the Pacific (from Polynesia)
Image 7Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Melanesia)
Image 8Köppen-Geiger climate classification map of Melanesia (from Melanesia)
Image 9Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa from 1998 to 2021, who initiated the Polynesian Leaders Group in late 2011. (from Polynesia)
Image 10A common fishing canoe va'a with outrigger in Savaiʻi island, Samoa, 2009 (from Polynesia)
Image 11Beach scenery at Laura, Majuro, Marshall Islands (from Micronesia)
Image 12Regions of Oceania (from Australasia)
Image 13Polynesians with outrigger canoes at Waikiki Beach, Oahu Island, early 20th century (from Polynesia)
Image 14Languages of Micronesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 15Chamorro people in 1915 (from Micronesia)
Image 16King Kamehameha I receiving the Russian naval expedition of Otto von Kotzebue. Drawing by Louis Choris in 1816. (from Polynesia)
Image 17Spinner dolphins (from Micronesia)
Image 18Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Micronesia)
Image 19Melansesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Micronesia and Polynesia (from Melanesia)
Image 20A depiction of a royal heiau (Hawaiian temple) at Kealakekua Bay, c. 1816 (from Polynesia)
Image 21Map showing the migration and expansion of the Austronesians which began at about 3,000 BC from Taiwan. The Polynesian branch is shown in green. (from Polynesia)
Image 22Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Melanesia)
Image 23Canoe carving on Nanumea atoll, Tuvalu (from Polynesia)
Image 24Kili Island is one of the smallest islands in the Marshall Islands. (from Micronesia)
Image 25The arrival of Abel Tasman in Tongatapu, 1643; drawing by Isaack Gilsemans (from Polynesia)
Image 26Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Polynesia)
Image 27Painting of Tahitian Women on the Beach by Paul Gauguin—Musée d'Orsay (from Polynesia)
Image 28Moai at Ahu Tongariki on Rapa Nui (from Polynesia)
Image 29A proportional representation of Micronesia exports, 2019 (from Micronesia)
Image 30Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Melanesia)
Image 31A pan flute from Solomon Islands, 19th century (from Melanesia)
Image 32Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the Polynesian Triangle. (from Polynesia)
Image 33German New Guinea before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899 (from Micronesia)
Image 34Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Micronesia)
Image 35Grinding stones discovered from archaeology in Samoa (from Polynesia)
Image 36Sailors of Melanesia in the Pacific Ocean, 1846 (from Melanesia)
Image 37Image of the Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at Bikini Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 38Micronesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Polynesia (from Micronesia)
Image 39Polynesian (Hawaiian) navigators sailing multi-hulled canoe, c. 1781 (from Polynesia)
Image 40Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 (from Polynesia)
Image 41Māori war canoe drawn after James Cook's voyage to New Zealand. (from Polynesia)
Image 42On February 14, 1779, Capt. James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 43Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case, Melanesia (from Australasia)
Image 44New Caledonia (from Melanesia)
Image 45Map from 1961 of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, formerly Japan's South Seas Mandate. (from Micronesia)
Image 46Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Polynesia)
Image 47Cook's Bay on Moorea, French Polynesia (from Polynesia)
Image 48Mokoliʻi Isle near Oahu, Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 49Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Micronesia)
Image 50Manila Galleon in the Marianas and Carolinas, c. 1590 Boxer Codex (from Micronesia)
Image 51A Melanesian child from Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 52Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Micronesia and Polynesia (from Polynesia)