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 including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Australia is regarded as an island or a continental landmass contained inside of the larger continent of Oceania. 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...)

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Mauna Loa as seen from the air.
Hualālai is visible in the background.

Mauna Loa (/ˌmɔːnə ˈloʊ.ə/ or /ˌmaʊnə ˈloʊ.ə/; Hawaiian: [ˈmɐwnə ˈlowə]; lit. 'Long Mountain') is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. Mauna Loa is Earth's largest active volcano by both mass and volume. It was historically considered to be the largest volcano on Earth until Tamu Massif was discovered to be larger. Mauna Loa is a shield volcano with relatively gentle slopes, and a volume estimated at 18,000 cubic miles (75,000 km³), although its peak is about 125 feet (38 m) lower than that of its neighbor, Mauna Kea. Lava eruptions from Mauna Loa are silica-poor and very fluid, and tend to be non-explosive.

Mauna Loa has likely been erupting for at least 700,000 years, and may have emerged above sea level about 400,000 years ago. Some dated rocks are 470,000 years old. The volcano's magma comes from the Hawaii hotspot, which has been responsible for the creation of the Hawaiian Island chain over tens of millions of years. The slow drift of the Pacific Plate will eventually carry Mauna Loa away from the hotspot within 500,000 to one million years from now, at which point it will become extinct. (Full article...)

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German Samoa (German: Deutsch-Samoa; Samoan: Siamani-Sāmoa) was a German protectorate from 1900 to 1920, consisting of the islands of Upolu, Savai'i, Apolima and Manono, now wholly within the Independent State of Samoa, formerly Western Samoa. Samoa was the last German colonial acquisition in the Pacific basin, received following the Tripartite Convention signed at Washington on 2 December 1899 with ratifications exchanged on 16 February 1900. It was the only German colony in the Pacific, aside from the Jiaozhou Bay Leased Territory in China, that was administered separately from German New Guinea. (Full article...)

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... that Michaela Foster, a New Zealand footballer playing in the 2023 World Cup, is known for her mana?

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

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