Portal:Oceania

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

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...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected geographic article - show another

The granite peak of Mount Wilhelm

Mount Wilhelm (German: Wilhelmsberg) is the highest mountain in Papua New Guinea at 4,509 metres (14,793 ft). It is part of the Bismarck Range and the peak is the point where three provinces, Chimbu, Jiwaka and Madang, meet. The peak is also known as Enduwa Kombuglu, or Kombugl'o Dimbin, in the local Kuman language.

The mountain is on the island of New Guinea, which incorporates Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian provinces of Papua. It is surpassed by Puncak Jaya, 4,884 m (16,024 ft), and several other peaks in Indonesian Papua. (Full article...)

List of geographic articles

edit

Related portals

Selected article - show another

Ioke at its record peak intensity west of the Hawaiian Islands on August 24

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 Cyclone Freddy surpassed its record 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...)

List of selected articles

Did you know - load new batch

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

General images - load new batch

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

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