Portal:Oceania
The Oceania PortalOceania (UK: /ˌoʊ.si.ˈɑː.ni.ə, ˌoʊ.ʃi.-, -ˈeɪ.n-/ OH-s(h)ee-AH-nee-ə, -AY-, US: /ˌoʊ.ʃi.ˈæ.ni.ə, -ˈɑː.n-/ ⓘ OH-shee-A(H)N-ee-ə) is a geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Oceania is also described as a continent, with mainland Australia 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 46.3 million as of 2024, when including Australia but excluding the Malay Archipelago. When compared against other continental land areas, Oceania is the smallest and the second-least populated after Antarctica. It is home to Earth’s third-largest remaining area of tropical rainforest, which covers much of the island of New Guinea. The first settlers of Australia, New Guinea, and the large islands just to the east arrived more than 60,000 years ago. Oceania was first explored by Europeans from the 16th century onward. Portuguese explorers, between 1512 and 1526, reached the Tanimbar Islands, some of the Caroline Islands, and west New Guinea. Spanish and Dutch explorers followed, then British and French. On his first voyage in the 18th century, James Cook, who later arrived at the highly developed Hawaiian Islands, went to Tahiti and followed the east coast of Australia for the first time. 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 and Second World Wars. (Full article...) Selected geographic article -Micronesia (UK: /ˌmaɪkrəˈniːziə/, US: /-ˈniːʒə/ ⓘ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Polynesia to the east, and Melanesia to the south—as well as with the wider community of Austronesian peoples. The region has a tropical marine climate and is part of the Oceanian realm. It includes four main archipelagos—the Caroline Islands, the Gilbert Islands, the Mariana Islands, and the Marshall Islands — as well as numerous islands that are not part of any archipelago. (Full article...) Related portalsSelected article -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...) Did you know -No recent additions General images -The following are images from various Oceania-related articles on Wikipedia.
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