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 44.4 million as of 2022. 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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Landsat satellite image of Lanai

Lanai (Hawaiian: Lānaʻi, Hawaiian: [laːˈnɐʔi, naːˈnɐʔi], /ləˈnaɪ, lɑːˈnɑːi/ lə-NY, lah-NAH-ee, also US: /lɑːˈnaɪ, ləˈnɑːi/ lah-NY, lə-NAH-ee,) is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands and the smallest publicly accessible inhabited island in the chain. It is colloquially known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The island's only settlement of note is the small town of Lanai City. As of 2012^[update], the island is 98% owned by Larry Ellison, cofounder and chairman of Oracle Corporation; the remaining 2% is owned by the state of Hawaii or individual homeowners.

Lanai is a roughly apostrophe-shaped island with a width of 18 miles (29 km) in the longest direction. The land area is 140.5 square miles (364 km²), making it the 43rd largest island in the United States. It is separated from the island of Molokaʻi by the Kalohi Channel to the north, and from Maui by the Auʻau Channel to the east. The United States Census Bureau defines Lanai as Census Tract 316 of Maui County. Its total population rose to 3,367 as of the 2020 United States census, up from 3,193 as of the 2000 census and 3,131 as of the 2010 census. As visible via satellite imagery, many of the island's landmarks are accessible only by dirt roads that require a four-wheel drive vehicle due to the lack of paved roadways. (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 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 1Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Polynesia)
Image 2Aerial view of Solomon Islands (from Melanesia)
Image 3Polynesian (Hawaiian) navigators sailing multi-hulled canoe, c. 1781 (from Polynesia)
Image 4Image of the Castle Bravo nuclear test, detonated on 1 March 1954, at Bikini Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 5A Melanesian child from Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 6Melanesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Micronesia and Polynesia. (from Melanesia)
Image 7Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Melanesia)
Image 8Māori war canoe drawn after James Cook's voyage to New Zealand. (from Polynesia)
Image 9Map from 1961 of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, formerly Japan's South Seas Mandate. (from Micronesia)
Image 10New Caledonia (from Melanesia)
Image 11A common fishing canoe va'a with outrigger in Savaiʻi island, Samoa, 2009 (from Polynesia)
Image 12Chronological dispersal of Austronesian peoples across the Indo-Pacific (from Micronesia)
Image 13The arrival of Abel Tasman in Tongatapu, 1643; drawing by Isaack Gilsemans (from Polynesia)
Image 14Map of Melanesia, showing its location within Oceania (from Melanesia)
Image 15Kili Island is one of the smallest islands in the Marshall Islands. (from Micronesia)
Image 16On February 14, 1779, Capt. James Cook was killed on the island of Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 17An 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 18Polynesians with outrigger canoes at Waikiki Beach, Oahu Island, early 20th century (from Polynesia)
Image 19Beach scenery at Laura, Majuro, Marshall Islands (from Micronesia)
Image 20Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 (from Polynesia)
Image 21German trading station at Jaluit Atoll with a Marshallese korkor outrigger canoe in the foreground (from Micronesia)
Image 22Mount Marpi in Saipan. (from Micronesia)
Image 23German New Guinea before and after the German-Spanish treaty of 1899 (from Micronesia)
Image 24Spinner dolphins (from Micronesia)
Image 25A pan flute from Solomon Islands, 19th century (from Melanesia)
Image 26Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the Polynesian Triangle. (from Polynesia)
Image 27A depiction of a royal heiau (Hawaiian temple) at Kealakekua Bay, c. 1816 (from Polynesia)
Image 28King Kamehameha I receiving the Russian naval expedition of Otto von Kotzebue. Drawing by Louis Choris in 1816. (from Polynesia)
Image 29Tarawa Atoll (from Micronesia)
Image 30Map 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 31Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Micronesia)
Image 32Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa from 1998 to 2021, who initiated the Polynesian Leaders Group in late 2011. (from Polynesia)
Image 33Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Polynesia)
Image 34Polynesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Micronesia. (from Polynesia)
Image 35Australia's concept of Australasia, which includes Australia, New Zealand and, in this case, Melanesia (from Australasia)
Image 36Manila Galleon in the Marianas and Carolinas, c. 1590 Boxer Codex (from Micronesia)
Image 37The Polynesian spread of colonization in the Pacific (from Polynesia)
Image 38Moai at Ahu Tongariki on Rapa Nui (from Polynesia)
Image 39Subregions (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia and Australasia), as well as sovereign and dependent islands of Oceania (from Micronesia)
Image 40Mokoliʻi Isle near Oahu, Hawaii (from Polynesia)
Image 41Canoe carving on Nanumea atoll, Tuvalu (from Polynesia)
Image 42Outline of sovereign (dark orange) and dependent islands (bright orange) (from Melanesia)
Image 43Grinding stones discovered from archaeology in Samoa (from Polynesia)
Image 44Cinder plain of Mount Yasur in Vanuatu (from Melanesia)
Image 45Languages of Micronesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 46Micronesia is one of three major cultural areas of the Pacific Ocean islands, along with Melanesia and Polynesia. (from Micronesia)
Image 47Chamorro people in 1915 (from Micronesia)
Image 48Köppen-Geiger climate classification map of Melanesia (from Melanesia)
Image 49Sailors of Melanesia in the Pacific Ocean, 1846 (from Melanesia)
Image 50Painting of Tahitian Women on the Beach by Paul Gauguin—Musée d'Orsay (from Polynesia)
Image 51Cook's Bay on Moorea, French Polynesia (from Polynesia)