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 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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French Polynesia (/ˌpɒlɪˈniːʒə/ ^ⓘ POL-in-EE-zhə; French: Polynésie française [pɔlinezi fʁɑ̃sɛːz]; Tahitian: Pōrīnetia Farāni) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) in the South Pacific Ocean. The total land area of French Polynesia is 3,521 square kilometres (1,359 sq mi), with a population of 278,786 (Aug. 2022 census) of which at least 205,000 live in the Society Islands and the remaining population lives in the rest of the archipelago.

French Polynesia is divided into five groups of islands:

the Society Islands archipelago, comprising the Windward Islands and the Leeward Islands
the Tuamotu Archipelago
the Gambier Islands
the Marquesas Islands
the Austral Islands. (Full article...)

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Typhoon Pongsona near peak intensity on December 8

Typhoon Pongsona was the last typhoon of the 2002 Pacific typhoon season, and was the second costliest United States disaster in 2002, only behind Hurricane Lili. The name "Pongsona" was contributed by North Korea for the Pacific tropical cyclone list and is the Korean name for the garden balsam. Pongsona developed out of an area of disturbed weather on December 2, and steadily intensified to reach typhoon status on December 5. On December 8 it passed through Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands while at peak intensity, with 10-minute sustained winds of 175 km/h (110 mph). It ultimately turned to the northeast, weakened, and became extratropical on December 11.

Typhoon Pongsona produced strong wind gusts peaking at 285 km/h (175 mph), which left the entire island of Guam without power and destroyed about 1,300 houses. With strong building standards and experience from repeated typhoon strikes, there were no fatalities directly related to Pongsona, although there was one indirect death from flying glass. Damage on the island totaled over $730 million (2002 USD, $1.24 billion 2024 USD), making Pongsona among the five costliest typhoons on the island. The typhoon also caused extreme damage on Rota and elsewhere in the Northern Mariana Islands, and as a result of its impact the name was retired. (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 1Moai at Ahu Tongariki on Rapa Nui (from Polynesia)
Image 2Polynesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Micronesia. (from Polynesia)
Image 3Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case, Melanesia (from Australasia)
Image 4Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Polynesia)
Image 5Polynesians with outrigger canoes at Waikiki Beach, Oahu Island, early 20th century (from Polynesia)
Image 6Map of Melanesia, showing its location within Oceania (from Melanesia)
Image 7Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Micronesia)
Image 8Canoe carving on Nanumea atoll, Tuvalu (from Polynesia)
Image 9Grinding stones discovered from archaeology in Samoa (from Polynesia)
Image 10On February 14, 1779, Capt. James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 11Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the Polynesian Triangle. (from Polynesia)
Image 12The arrival of Abel Tasman in Tongatapu, 1643; drawing by Isaack Gilsemans (from Polynesia)
Image 13New Caledonia (from Melanesia)
Image 14German trading station at Jaluit Atoll with a Marshallese korkor outrigger canoe in the foreground (from Micronesia)
Image 15Image of the Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at Bikini Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 16Micronesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Polynesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 17Polynesian (Hawaiian) navigators sailing multi-hulled canoe, c. 1781 (from Polynesia)
Image 18A pan flute from Solomon Islands, 19th century (from Melanesia)
Image 19Aerial view of Solomon Islands (from Melanesia)
Image 20Sailors of Melanesia in the Pacific Ocean, 1846 (from Melanesia)
Image 21Spinner dolphins (from Micronesia)
Image 22King Kamehameha I receiving the Russian naval expedition of Otto von Kotzebue. Drawing by Louis Choris in 1816. (from Polynesia)
Image 23Kili Island is one of the smallest islands in the Marshall Islands. (from Micronesia)
Image 24Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Micronesia and Polynesia. (from Melanesia)
Image 25Mount Marpi in Saipan. (from Micronesia)
Image 26The Polynesian spread of colonization in the Pacific (from Polynesia)
Image 27Map from 1961 of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, formerly Japan's South Seas Mandate. (from Micronesia)
Image 28Beach scenery at Laura, Majuro, Marshall Islands (from Micronesia)
Image 29Cinder plain of Mount Yasur in Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 30Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 (from Polynesia)
Image 31Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Polynesia)
Image 32German New Guinea before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899 (from Micronesia)
Image 33Mount Tavurvur in Papua New Guinea (from Melanesia)
Image 34An 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 35Köppen-Geiger climate classification map of Melanesia (from Melanesia)
Image 36Painting of Tahitian Women on the Beach by Paul Gauguin—Musée d'Orsay (from Polynesia)
Image 37Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa from 1998 to 2021, who initiated the Polynesian Leaders Group in late 2011. (from Polynesia)
Image 38Māori war canoe drawn after James Cook's voyage to New Zealand. (from Polynesia)
Image 39Chamorro people in 1915 (from Micronesia)
Image 40Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Melanesia)
Image 41Map 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 42Mokoliʻi Isle near Oahu, Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 43Manila Galleon in the Marianas and Carolinas, c. 1590 Boxer Codex (from Micronesia)
Image 44Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Micronesia)
Image 45Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Melanesia)
Image 46A depiction of a royal heiau (Hawaiian temple) at Kealakekua Bay, c. 1816 (from Polynesia)
Image 47Languages of Micronesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 48Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Micronesia)
Image 49Cook's Bay on Moorea, French Polynesia (from Polynesia)
Image 50A common fishing canoe va'a with outrigger in Savaiʻi island, Samoa, 2009 (from Polynesia)
Image 51A Melanesian child from Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 52Tarawa Atoll (from Micronesia)