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 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 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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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 province of Papua. It is surpassed by Puncak Jaya, 4,884 m (16,024 ft), and several other peaks in Indonesian Papua. (Full article...)

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Cyclone Percy prior to peak intensity on March 1

Severe Tropical Cyclone Percy was an extremely powerful tropical cyclone which was the third and last Category 5 cyclone to form in the 2004–05 South Pacific cyclone season. The seventh named storm and the fourth and final severe tropical cyclone to form during the 2004–05 South Pacific cyclone season. Percy originated as a tropical disturbance on February 23. Over the course of the next few days, the system organized while moving east-southeastward, before intensifying into a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the Australian region scale on February 26. The system quickly intensified, reaching Category 4 status later that day. On the next day, Percy was steered southward by a blocking ridge of high pressure, while stretched out the structure of the storm into an elliptical shape, weakening it back to Category 3 status. Afterward, the storm rapidly reintensified, reaching its peak intensity as a Category 5 tropical cyclone on March 2. Afterward, Percy encountered increasing wind shear and weakened once again, turning southeastward on the next day. On March 5, Percy transitioned into an extratropical storm, before dissipating soon afterward.

Percy was also the most damaging of the South Pacific February cyclones that year, as it battered the Cook Islands, which were still recovering from the impacts of Cyclones Meena, Nancy and Olaf. Percy then devastated the island of Tokelau, leaving many homeless and millions in dollars in property damages (although exact damage figures are unavailable). Because of warnings in anticipation of the storm, there were no deaths and there were only a few injuries. (Full article...)

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

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