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 Mainland Australia is regarded as its continental landmass. 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 46.3 million as of 2024. Oceania is the smallest continent 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. The largest and most populous country in Oceania is Australia, and the largest city is Sydney. Puncak Jaya in Indonesia is the highest peak in Oceania at 4,884 m (16,024 ft).

The rock art of Aboriginal Australians is the longest continuously practiced artistic tradition in the world. Most Oceanian countries are parliamentary democracies, with tourism serving as a large source of income for the Pacific island nations. (Full article...)

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Location of Rennell Island in Solomon Islands

Rennell Island, locally known as Mugaba, is the main island of two inhabited islands that make up the Rennell and Bellona Province in the nation state of Solomon Islands. Rennell Island has a land area of 660 square kilometres (250 sq mi) and is about 80 kilometres (50 mi) long and 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) wide. It is the second largest raised coral atoll in the world with the largest lake in the insular Pacific, Lake Tegano, a lake that is listed as a World Heritage Site. Rennell Island has a population of about 1,840 persons of Polynesian descent who primarily speak Rennellese, Pijin and some English. Rennell and Bellona Islands are two of the few islands in the otherwise Melanesian Solomon Islands archipelago classified as a Polynesian outlier.

The island lies 236 kilometres (127 nmi; 147 mi) south of Honiara and 1,900 kilometres (1,000 nmi; 1,200 mi) north-east of Brisbane. The provincial capital, Tigoa, is at the western end of the island. (Full article...)

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Typhoon Paka at peak intensity on 18 December

Typhoon Paka, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Rubing, was an extremely powerful and long-lived storm that devastated Guam and the Marshall Islands in December 1997. One of the strongest Pacific typhoons ever recorded in the month of December, Paka was the last tropical cyclone of the 1997 Pacific hurricane and typhoon seasons and the last of a record eleven super typhoons that formed in 1997. Paka, which is the Hawaiian name for Pat, developed on 28 November from a trough well to the southwest of Hawaii. The storm tracked generally westward for much of its duration, and on 7 December it crossed into the western Pacific Ocean. Much of its track was characterized by fluctuations in intensity, and on 10 December the cyclone attained typhoon status as it crossed the Marshall Islands. On 16 December, Paka struck Guam and Rota with winds of 230 km/h (140 mph), and it strengthened further to reach peak winds on 18 December over open waters as the final super typhoon of the year. Subsequently, it underwent a steady weakening trend, and on 23 December Paka dissipated.

Typhoon Paka first impacted the Marshall Islands, where it dropped heavy rainfall and left US$80 million in damages. Later, it passed just north of Guam, where strong winds destroyed about 1,500 buildings and damaged 10,000 more; 5,000 people were left homeless, and the island experienced a complete power outage following the typhoon. Damage on the island totaled US$500 million, which warranted the retirement of its name. Paka also caused minor damage in the Northern Mariana Islands, and overall, the typhoon did not cause any reported fatalities. (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 1A Melanesian child from Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 2King Kamehameha I receiving the Russian naval expedition of Otto von Kotzebue. Drawing by Louis Choris in 1816. (from Polynesia)
Image 3Micronesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Polynesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 4Tarawa Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 5Sailors of Melanesia in the Pacific Ocean, 1846 (from Melanesia)
Image 6Cook's Bay on Moorea, French Polynesia (from Polynesia)
Image 7German New Guinea before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899 (from Micronesia)
Image 8Painting of Tahitian Women on the Beach by Paul Gauguin—Musée d'Orsay (from Polynesia)
Image 9Köppen-Geiger climate classification map of Melanesia (from Melanesia)
Image 10Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Micronesia)
Image 11A depiction of a royal heiau (Hawaiian temple) at Kealakekua Bay, c. 1816 (from Polynesia)
Image 12Beach scenery at Laura, Majuro, Marshall Islands (from Micronesia)
Image 13A pan flute from Solomon Islands, 19th century (from Melanesia)
Image 14Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case, Melanesia (from Australasia)
Image 15Mokoliʻi Isle near Oahu, Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 16Māori war canoe drawn after James Cook's voyage to New Zealand. (from Polynesia)
Image 17Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Micronesia)
Image 18Kili Island is one of the smallest islands in the Marshall Islands. (from Micronesia)
Image 19German trading station at Jaluit Atoll with a Marshallese korkor outrigger canoe in the foreground (from Micronesia)
Image 20Map of Melanesia, showing its location within Oceania (from Melanesia)
Image 21Polynesian (Hawaiian) navigators sailing multi-hulled canoe, c. 1781 (from Polynesia)
Image 22New Caledonia (from Melanesia)
Image 23On February 14, 1779, Capt. James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii. (from Polynesia)
Image 24The Polynesian spread of colonization in the Pacific (from Polynesia)
Image 25Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 (from Polynesia)
Image 26Map 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 27Image of the Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at Bikini Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 28Spinner dolphins (from Micronesia)
Image 29Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Melanesia)
Image 30The arrival of Abel Tasman in Tongatapu, 1643; drawing by Isaack Gilsemans (from Polynesia)
Image 31A common fishing canoe va'a with outrigger in Savaiʻi island, Samoa, 2009 (from Polynesia)
Image 32Aerial view of Solomon Islands (from Melanesia)
Image 33Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Micronesia and Polynesia. (from Melanesia)
Image 34Mount Marpi in Saipan. (from Micronesia)
Image 35Outline of sovereign (orange) and dependent islands (yellow) (from Melanesia)
Image 36Manila Galleon in the Marianas and Carolinas, c. 1590 Boxer Codex (from Micronesia)
Image 37Map from 1961 of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, formerly Japan's South Seas Mandate. (from Micronesia)
Image 38Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Micronesia)
Image 39Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Polynesia)
Image 40Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the Polynesian Triangle. (from Polynesia)
Image 41An 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 42Chamorro people in 1915 (from Micronesia)
Image 43Cinder plain of Mount Yasur in Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 44Moai at Ahu Tongariki on Rapa Nui (from Polynesia)
Image 45Languages of Micronesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 46Grinding stones discovered from archaeology in Samoa (from Polynesia)
Image 47Polynesians with outrigger canoes at Waikiki Beach, Oahu Island, early 20th century (from Polynesia)
Image 48Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Polynesia)
Image 49Polynesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Micronesia. (from Polynesia)
Image 50Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa from 1998 to 2021, who initiated the Polynesian Leaders Group in late 2011. (from Polynesia)
Image 51Canoe carving on Nanumea atoll, Tuvalu (from Polynesia)