Oceania
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Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Oceania (sometimes Oceanica)[1] is a geographical, often geopolitical, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term is often used in many languages to define one of the continents[2][3][4] and is one of eight terrestrial ecozones.
Ethnologically, the islands of Oceania are divided into the subregions of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.[5]
Oceania sometimes is taken to include Australasia, which is made up of Australia, New Guinea, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and various islands of the Malay Archipelago.[6]
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[edit] Extent
Originally coined by the French explorer Dumont d'Urville in 1831, Oceania has been traditionally divided into Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia. As with any region, however, interpretations vary; increasingly, geographers and scientists divide Oceania into Near Oceania and Remote Oceania.[7]
Most of Oceania consists of island nations composed of thousands of coral atolls and volcanic islands, with small human populations.
Australia is the only continental country but if Australasia is included, then the highest point is currently being debated between Mount Wilhelm, Papua New Guinea, 4,509 meters (14,794 feet) and Carstensz Pyramid, Indonesia, 4,884 meters (16,023 feet). The lowest point is Lake Eyre, Australia at 16 meters (52 feet) below sea level.
[edit] Regions
The regions of Oceania and the countries located within each of them are:
See Also: List of Oceanian countries by population
[edit] Interpretative details and controversies
- New Zealand is the western corner of the Polynesian triangle and its indigenous Māori constitute one of the major cultures of Polynesia.
- Hawaii is the northern corner of the Polynesian triangle and is generally included in Oceania, though politically it is part of the United States. The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian member of the Oceanic language family, and Hawaiian culture is one of the major cultures of Polynesia.
- The few U.S. territories in the North Pacific are generally considered part of Oceania.
- Rapa Nui or Easter Island is the eastern corner of the Polynesian triangle, a Polynesian island in the eastern Pacific Ocean, part of the territory of Chile, and is generally included in Oceania, in which case the most easterly place in Polynesia and Oceania, is its dependency Sala y Gómez 415 km to the East.
- On very rare occasions the term may be stretched even further to include other Pacific island groups such as the Aleutian Islands.[citation needed]
- The line in Indonesia dividing Oceania from Asia varies in location and is sometimes considered to be the Wallace Line. See the transcontinental country article.
- East Timor is frequently reckoned as a part of Oceania due to its geographical position to the east of the Wallace Line and its cultural ties to the Pacific people. See transcontinental country.
- Australia is sometimes not included in Oceania, although a term like Pacific Islands would normally be used to describe Oceania without Australia (and New Zealand). The term "Australasia" invariably includes Australia, and usually includes New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and parts of Oceania, but this term is sometimes controversial outside of Australia, as it may be seen as indicating a link with Asia — a separate continent — or as too greatly emphasising Australia. "Austral" means "of, relating to, or coming from the south", and is the common root of both Australia and Australasia.
- Although Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands belong to the Commonwealth of Australia, they are west of Sumatra and commonly associated with Asia.
- The Philippines, an archipelago in the Western Pacific Ocean, is sometimes included in Oceania, due to its Austronesian people, its role as the centre of the former Spanish East Indies, and as a former naval power in the Pacific when it was a territory of the United States from (1898–1946). Except for Palawan all of its larger islands lie to the East of the Wallace line.
[edit] Ecogeography
Oceania is one of eight terrestrial ecozones, which constitute the major ecological regions of the planet. The Oceania ecozone includes all of Micronesia, Fiji, and all of Polynesia except New Zealand. New Zealand, along with New Guinea and nearby islands, Australia, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia, constitute the separate Australasia ecozone.
[edit] History
- Further information: History of Oceania
[edit] Sport
[edit] Pacific Games
The Pacific Games (formerly known as the South Pacific Games) is a multi-sport event, much like the Olympics, (albeit on a much smaller scale), with participation exclusively from countries around the South Pacific. It is held every four years and began in 1963.
[edit] Rugby codes
Rugby League and Rugby Union are two of the region's most popular sports. Rugby union is the national sport of New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji and Tonga. Rugby League is the national sport in Papua New Guinea (the second most populous country in Oceania after Australia) and is very popular in Australia and has a significant following in New Zealand.
Australia has won the Rugby World Cup twice, New Zealand won the inaugural World Cup in 1987. Australia and New Zealand jointly hosted the World Cup in 1987; Australia hosted it in 2003 and New Zealand is to host it in 2011.
[edit] Australian rules football
Australian rules football is the national sport in Nauru and is most popular in Australia. It is also very popular in Papua New Guinea.
[edit] Football (soccer)
Currently Vanuatu is the only country in Oceania to call football its national sport.
The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of six football (soccer) confederations under the auspices of FIFA, the international governing body of the sport. The OFC is the only confederation without an automatic qualification to the World Cup Finals. Currently the winner of the OFC qualification tournament must play-off against an Asian confederation side to qualify for the World Cup.
Oceania has only been represented at three World Cup Finals — Australia in 1974 plus 2006 and New Zealand in 1982. However, Australia is now no longer a member of the Oceania Football Confederation, having joined the Asian Football Confederation in 2006.
[edit] See also
- Portal:Oceania
- Art of Oceania
- Economy of Oceania
- Flags of Oceania
- Military history of Oceania
- History of Oceania
- Australasia
- New Zealand
- Europeans in Oceania
- Australia (continent)
- Pacific Islands
- Pacific Islands Forum
- Pacific Games
- Oceania (journal)
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Oceanica" in WordWeb Online dictionary and thesaurus. http://www.wordwebonline.com/en/OCEANICA
- ^ World Atlas of Canada
- ^ List of IOC members (122) by continent. International Olympic Committee: 112th session, Moscow 2001
- ^ Encarta Mexico "Oceanía"
- ^ "Oceania". 2005. The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Columbia University Press.
- ^ See, e.g., World Atlas of Canada
- ^ Ben Finney, The Other One-Third of the Globe, Journal of World History, Vol. 5, No. 2, Fall, 1994
- ^ Regions and constituents as per UN categorisations/map except notes 2-3, 6. Depending on definitions, various territories cited below (notes 3, 5-7, 9) may be in one or both of Oceania and Asia or North America.
- ^ The use and scope of this term varies. The UN designation for this subregion is "Australia and New Zealand."
- ^ a b Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands are Australian external territories in the Indian Ocean southwest of Indonesia.
- ^ New Zealand is often considered part of Polynesia rather than Australasia.
- ^ Excludes Timor-Leste and parts of Indonesia, island territories in Southeastern Asia (UN region) frequently reckoned in this region.
- ^ East Timor is considered part of Oceania rather than Asia; see http://www.world-gazetteer.com/
- ^ Indonesia is generally considered a territory of Southeastern Asia (UN region); wholly or partially, it is also frequently included in Australasia or Melanesia. Figures include Indonesian portion of New Guinea (Irian Jaya) and Maluku Islands.
- ^ Papua New Guinea is often considered part of Australasia as well as Melanesia.
- ^ On 7 October 2006, government officials moved their offices in the former capital of Koror to Melekeok, located 20 km northeast of Koror on Babelthuap Island.
- ^ Excludes the US state of Hawaii, which is distant from the North American landmass in the Pacific Ocean, and Easter Island, a territory of Chile in South America.
- ^ Fagatogo is the seat of government of American Samoa.
- ^ Tokelau, a domain of New Zealand, has no capital: each atoll has its own administrative centre.
[edit] External links
| Oceania Portal |
Countries and territories of Oceania | |
|---|---|
| Image:Australasia.png Australasia | Australia · Christmas Island · Cocos (Keeling) Islands · New Zealand1[›] · Norfolk Island |
| Image:Melanesia.png Melanesia | East Timor2[›] · Fiji · Indonesia (Maluku Islands) · New Caledonia · Papua New Guinea3[›] · Solomon Islands · Vanuatu |
| Image:Micronesia.png Micronesia | Federated States of Micronesia · Guam · Kiribati · Marshall Islands · Nauru · Northern Mariana Islands · Palau |
| Image:Polynesia.png Polynesia | American Samoa · Cook Islands · French Polynesia · Niue · Pitcairn · Samoa · Tokelau · Tonga · Tuvalu · Wallis and Futuna |
| ^ 1: New Zealand is often included in Polynesia. ^ 2: East Timor is often included in Asia. ^ 3: New Guinea is often included in Australasia. | |
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