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 Australia is regarded as an island or a continental landmass within that continent. 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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New Guinea Island

New Guinea (Tok Pisin: Niugini; Hiri Motu: Niu Gini; Indonesian: Papua, fossilized Nugini, or historically Irian) is the world's second-largest island, with an area of 785,753 km² (303,381 sq mi). Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the 150-kilometre (81-nautical-mile; 93-mile) wide Torres Strait, though both landmasses lie on the same continental shelf, and were united during episodes of low sea level in the Pleistocene glaciations as the combined landmass of Sahul. Numerous smaller islands are located to the west and east. The island's name was given by Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez during his maritime expedition of 1545 due to the resemblance of the indigenous peoples of the island to those in the African region of Guinea.

The eastern half of the island is the major land mass of the nation of Papua New Guinea. The western half, known as Western New Guinea, forms a part of Indonesia and is organized as the provinces of Papua, Central Papua, Highland Papua, South Papua, Southwest Papua, and West Papua. The two major cities on the island are Port Moresby and Jayapura. (Full article...)

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The coconut crab (Birgus latro) is a terrestrial species of giant hermit crab, and is also known as the robber crab or palm thief. It is the largest terrestrial arthropod known, with a weight of up to 4.1 kg (9 lb). The distance from the tip of one leg to the tip of another can be as wide as 1 m (3 ft 3 in). It is found on islands across the Indian and Pacific Oceans, as far east as the Gambier Islands, Pitcairn Islands and Caroline Island and as far west as Zanzibar. While its range broadly shadows the distribution of the coconut palm, the coconut crab has been extirpated from most areas with a significant human population such as mainland Australia and Madagascar.

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