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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Hawaii (/həˈwaɪ.i/ ^ⓘ hə-WY-ee; Hawaiian: Hawaiʻi [həˈvɐjʔi, həˈwɐjʔi]) is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) southwest of the U.S. mainland. It is the only state not on the North American mainland, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state in the tropics.

Hawaii consists of 137 volcanic islands that comprise almost the entire Hawaiian archipelago (the exception, which is outside the state, is Midway Atoll). Spanning 1,500 miles (2,400 km), the state is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania. Hawaii's ocean coastline is consequently the fourth-longest in the U.S., at about 750 miles (1,210 km). The eight main islands, from northwest to southeast, are Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui, and Hawaiʻi, after which the state is named; the latter is often called the "Big Island" or "Hawaii Island" to avoid confusion with the state or archipelago. The uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands make up most of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, the largest protected area in the U.S. and the fourth-largest in the world. (Full article...)

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Some modern Hawaiian dishes. From top left, clockwise: tripe stew (ʻōpū kū), rice (laiki), ʻopihi poke, laulau, squid lūʻau, pipikaula shortribs, kālua puaʻa (kālua pig), and poi in the center.

The cuisine of Hawaii incorporates five distinct styles of food, reflecting the diverse food history of settlement and immigration in the Hawaiian Islands.^[a]

In the pre-contact period of Ancient Hawaii (300 AD–1778), Polynesian voyagers brought plants and animals to the Islands. As Native Hawaiians settled the area, they fished, raised taro for poi, planted coconuts, sugarcane, sweet potatoes and yams, and cooked meat and fish in earth ovens. (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 1Tarawa Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 2Micronesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Polynesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 3Köppen-Geiger climate classification map of Melanesia (from Melanesia)
Image 4Mokoliʻi Isle near Oahu, Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 5Map 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 6Canoe carving on Nanumea atoll, Tuvalu (from Polynesia)
Image 7German New Guinea before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899 (from Micronesia)
Image 8Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 (from Polynesia)
Image 9Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Micronesia)
Image 10Image of the Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at Bikini Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 11Aerial view of Solomon Islands (from Melanesia)
Image 12Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case, Melanesia (from Australasia)
Image 13On February 14, 1779, Capt. James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 14Polynesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Micronesia. (from Polynesia)
Image 15The arrival of Abel Tasman in Tongatapu, 1643; drawing by Isaack Gilsemans (from Polynesia)
Image 16Spinner dolphins (from Micronesia)
Image 17Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Melanesia)
Image 18Cinder plain of Mount Yasur in Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 19Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Micronesia)
Image 20Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Melanesia)
Image 21Māori war canoe drawn after James Cook's voyage to New Zealand. (from Polynesia)
Image 22King Kamehameha I receiving the Russian naval expedition of Otto von Kotzebue. Drawing by Louis Choris in 1816. (from Polynesia)
Image 23Mount Marpi in Saipan. (from Micronesia)
Image 24Manila Galleon in the Marianas and Carolinas, c. 1590 Boxer Codex (from Micronesia)
Image 25Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Polynesia)
Image 26Languages of Micronesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 27Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the Polynesian Triangle. (from Polynesia)
Image 28A pan flute from Solomon Islands, 19th century (from Melanesia)
Image 29Moai at Ahu Tongariki on Rapa Nui (from Polynesia)
Image 30Polynesians with outrigger canoes at Waikiki Beach, Oahu Island, early 20th century (from Polynesia)
Image 31Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Micronesia)
Image 32Cook's Bay on Moorea, French Polynesia (from Polynesia)
Image 33The Polynesian spread of colonization in the Pacific (from Polynesia)
Image 34Polynesian (Hawaiian) navigators sailing multi-hulled canoe, c. 1781 (from Polynesia)
Image 35Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Micronesia and Polynesia. (from Melanesia)
Image 36An 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 37Mount Tavurvur in Papua New Guinea (from Melanesia)
Image 38Painting of Tahitian Women on the Beach by Paul Gauguin—Musée d'Orsay (from Polynesia)
Image 39New Caledonia (from Melanesia)
Image 40Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa from 1998 to 2021, who initiated the Polynesian Leaders Group in late 2011. (from Polynesia)
Image 41Sailors of Melanesia in the Pacific Ocean, 1846 (from Melanesia)
Image 42German trading station at Jaluit Atoll with a Marshallese korkor outrigger canoe in the foreground (from Micronesia)
Image 43A Melanesian child from Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 44Map from 1961 of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, formerly Japan's South Seas Mandate. (from Micronesia)
Image 45Kili Island is one of the smallest islands in the Marshall Islands. (from Micronesia)
Image 46A depiction of a royal heiau (Hawaiian temple) at Kealakekua Bay, c. 1816 (from Polynesia)
Image 47Chamorro people in 1915 (from Micronesia)
Image 48Beach scenery at Laura, Majuro, Marshall Islands (from Micronesia)
Image 49Map of Melanesia, showing its location within Oceania (from Melanesia)
Image 50Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Polynesia)
Image 51A common fishing canoe va'a with outrigger in Savaiʻi island, Samoa, 2009 (from Polynesia)
Image 52Grinding stones discovered from archaeology in Samoa (from Polynesia)