Classification of oceanic islands. Peculiarities of the nature of Oceania. Flora and fauna of Oceania

Oceania is the name of a region of the world consisting of island groups in the central and southern Pacific Ocean. It covers more than 8.5 million km². Some of the countries that make up Oceania include Australia, New Zealand, Tuvalu, Samoa, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Solomon islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Palau, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Nauru. Oceania also includes several dependent territories such as American Samoa, Johnston and French Polynesia.

Physical geography of Oceania

In terms of physical geography, the islands of Oceania are often divided into four different subregions based on the geological processes that played an important role in their physical development. The first one is. It stands out due to its location in the middle of the Indo-Australian plate, and the lack of mountain building during its development. Instead, the current physical features of Australia's landscape have been shaped primarily by erosion.

The second region of Oceania consists of islands located at the boundaries of the collision between the plates of the earth's crust. They are located in the South Pacific Ocean. For example, on the collision line of the Indo-Australian and Pacific plates, and includes places such as New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. Northern part The Pacific Ocean also has similar types of landscapes along the boundary of the Eurasian and Pacific plates. Colliding tectonic plates are responsible for the formation of mountains, such as those in New Zealand, that rise more than 3,000 m above sea level.

Volcanic islands such as Fiji are the third category of landscape type found in Oceania. These islands typically rise from the seabed in hot spots in the Pacific Ocean basin. Most of these areas consist of very small islands with high mountain ranges.

Finally, island coral reefs and atolls such as Tuvalu are the final type of landscape in Oceania. Atolls are specifically responsible for the formation of low-lying land areas, some with enclosed lagoons.

Oceania Climate

Climate map of Oceania according to Köppen

Most of Oceania is divided into two climatic zones: temperate and. Most of Australia and all of New Zealand are in the temperate zone, while most of the Pacific islands are considered tropical. Temperate regions of Oceania have high levels precipitation, cold winters and warm or hot summers. The tropical regions of Oceania are hot and humid all year round.

In addition to these climate zones, most countries in Oceania are subject to continuous trade winds and sometimes hurricanes (called tropical cyclones), which have historically caused catastrophic damage to the region's countries and islands.

Flora and fauna of Oceania

Because most of Oceania lies in the tropical or temperate climate zone, abundant rainfall helps support the growth of tropical and temperate rainforests throughout the region. Wet rainforests common in some island countries near the tropics, while temperate rainforests are found in New Zealand. Both types of forest support a variety of animal and plant species, making Oceania one of the most biologically diverse regions in the world.

It is important to note that not all areas of Oceania receive high rainfall and some parts of the region are arid or semi-arid. Australia, for example, has large areas of dry land that support little diversity of flora. In addition, El Niño has caused frequent droughts in recent decades in Northern Australia and Papua New Guinea.

The fauna of Oceania, like its flora, is also extremely beautiful. Because much of the region is made up of islands, unique species of birds, animals and insects have evolved in complete isolation. Presence of coral reefs such as the Great barrier reef and Kingman Reef also provide areas of high concentrations of flora and fauna and are considered biodiversity hotspots.

Population of Oceania

Oceania has a population of about 40 million, with the bulk of the people (about 30 million) living in Australia and New Zealand, while Papua New Guinea has a population of about 8 million. The remainder of Oceania's population is scattered across the various islands that make up the region.

Like population distribution, urbanization and industrialization are also unevenly distributed across Oceania. About 89% of the region's urban areas are in Australia and New Zealand, and these countries also have the best developed infrastructure. Australia, in particular, has reserves of many minerals and energy feedstocks, and generates much of the region's economy. The rest of Oceania and, in particular, the Pacific island states are very underdeveloped. Some islands are rich, but most are not. In addition, some of island states experience a shortage of clean drinking water or food.

Agriculture is also important in Oceania and there are three types that are common in the region. These include natural Agriculture, plantation crops and capital-intensive agriculture. Subsistence farming occurs on most Pacific Islands and is carried out to support local communities. Cassava, taro, yams and sweet potatoes are the most common products of this type of agriculture. Plantation crops are planted in the middle tropical islands, while capital-intensive agriculture is practiced only in Australia and New Zealand.

Finally, fishing and tourism are important sectors of the Oceanian economy and a driver of its development. Fishing serves as an important source of income because many islands have maritime exclusive economic zones that extend over 370 km. Tourism is also important for Oceania as tropical islands, for example, Fiji offers aesthetic beauty, while Australia and New Zealand attract developed cities with modern infrastructure. New Zealand has also become an important tourism region in the field.

Oceania countries

Map of Oceania countries/Wikipedia

Below is a list of the 14 independent countries of Oceania, arranged in order from largest to smallest country by area:

1) Australia:

Area: 7,617,930 km²
Population: about 25,000,000 people
Capital: Canberra

2) Papua New Guinea:

Area: 462,840 km²
Population: more than 8,000,000 people
Capital: Port Moresby

3) New Zealand:

Area: 268,680 km²
Population: about 5,000,000 people
Capital: Wellington

4) Solomon Islands:

Area: 28,450 km²
Population: about 600,000 people
Capitals: Honiara

5) Fiji:

Area: 18,274 km²
Population: about 900,000 people
Capital: Suva

6) Vanuatu:

Area: 12,189 km²
Population: about 270,000 people
Capital: Port Vila

7) Samoa:

Area: 2842 km²
Population: about 193,000 people
Capital: Apia

8) Kiribati:

Area: 811 km²
Population: about 110,000 people
Capital: Tarawa

9) Tonga:

Area: 748 km²
Population: about 107,000 people
Capitals: Nuku'alofa

10) Federated States of Micronesia:

Area: 702 km²
Population: about 105,000 people
Capital: Palikir

11) Palau:

Area: 459 km²
Population: about 21,000 people
Capital: Melekeok

12) Marshall Islands:

Area: 181 km²
Population: about 53,000 people
Capital: Majuro

13) Tuvalu:

Area: 26 km²
Capital: Funafuti

14) Nauru:

Area: 21 km²
Population: about 11,000 people
Capital: No

The message Oceania 7th grade will briefly tell you a lot useful information about this geographical region of the world. Also, information about Oceania report will help deepen your knowledge of geography.

Message about Oceania

Oceania is a separate part of the geopolitical region. It consists of a large number of atolls and islands that are located in the central and western parts of the Pacific Ocean.

Oceania: brief description

Oceania is located between the subtropical latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere and the temperate latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere. Geographers often consider Oceania as part of Australia. For this there is geographical name, which sounds like Australia and Oceania. total area geopolitical region is 1.24 million km 2. It is inhabited by 10.6 million people.

Oceania is divided into 3 geographical regions: Micronesia, Polynesia and Melanesia. It is washed by such seas of the Pacific Ocean as the Solomon, Coral, New Guinea, Koro and Fiji, and Tasman Sea. And the Arafura Sea, which belongs to the Indian Ocean basin.

Climatic features of Oceania

Most of Oceania is dominated by a tropical climate and heavy annual rainfall. Islands that are located closer to tropical zone, are characterized by an average annual temperature of +23 °C. In the area near the equator - 27 °C. The climate of the geopolitical region is influenced by El Niño and La Niña currents. Most of the islands are susceptible to the negative effects of tsunamis, active volcanoes and typhoons.

Oceania differs from other regions in the dramatic change weather conditions: heavy rains give way to prolonged drought.

Minerals of Oceania

Mineral deposits are due to geological structure and the origin of the islands. The New Caledonia region produces nickel, chromite and other metals. New Guinea has reserves of bauxite, coal and oil. The atoll islands are rich in phosphorites.

Flora and fauna of Oceania

The large islands are covered with moist evergreen forests or savannas. The dominant trees are pandanus, bamboos, ficus, and casuarina. Some types of trees are useful for human activity - sago and coconut palms, mangoes and bananas, melon and breadfruit. Also on the islands of Oceania there are endemic species: tree ferns, kauri pine, New Zealand flax and cabbage tree.

The fauna is represented by echidna, tree kangaroo, crocodiles, and kiwi bird. There are no predators or poisonous snakes on the islands, and there are practically no mammals. Europeans brought pigs, cows, horses, goats, rabbits, and cats to Oceania.

The indigenous inhabitants of Oceania are representatives of the Australoid-Mongoloid race.
Here is the country of Karibati, which lies in all hemispheres.
The region is located active volcano, not fading since 1902.
Hadeaway Island is unique in that it has an underwater post office, the only one in the world.
In the past, the inhabitants of Oceania practiced cannibalism.

We hope that the report on the topic “Oceania” helped you learn a lot of useful information about this part of the world. You can add a message on the topic “Oceania” using the comment form below.

Geographically, Oceania is the world's largest collection of islands, which are located in the western and central parts of the Pacific Ocean. Far from us, between the subtropical latitudes of the Northern and temperate Southern hemispheres. Many classifications usually combine Oceania with Australia, although Australia, as we know, is a continent.

Oceania is a world of great contrasts, many interesting plants grow here, unique nature and an unforgettable culture.

The total area of the islands is 1.26 million square kilometers (and together with Australia 8.52 million km²). Population: almost 11 million people. (for the company with Australia - 32.6 million people).

Oceania is divided into three geographical regions, the names of which alone evoke thoughts of adventure and virgin nature. Their names are Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia. The islands of Oceania are washed by many seas of the Pacific Ocean - the Coral Sea, Solomon, New Guinea, Tasman Sea, Koro and Fiji, as well as the Arafura Sea, which belongs to the Indian Ocean basin.

Origin of land in Oceania

From a geological point of view, only Australia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, New Guinea and Tasmania are of continental origin. They were once part of the proto-continent Gondwana, which broke apart. At that time, these islands were solid land, but the waters of the World Ocean rose to a considerable height and part of the surface was flooded. Now the highest parts of the land that belonged to Gondwana protrude above the water.

The topography of most islands is mountainous and highly dissected. There are in Oceania and truly high peaks, including Mount Jaya (elevation 5029 m), on the island of New Guinea.

Types of islands

Colossal transformations apparently took place once in these places. It has been determined that most of the islands of Oceania arose as a result volcanic activity. Some are the peaks of large underwater volcanoes, some of which still exhibit high volcanic activity(for example, in the Hawaiian Islands).

(function(w, d, n, s, t) ( w[n] = w[n] || ; w[n].push(function() ( Ya.Context.AdvManager.render(( blockId: "R-A -256054-1", renderTo: "yandex_rtb_R-A-256054-1", async: true )); )); t = d.getElementsByTagName("script"); s = d.createElement("script"); s .type = "text/javascript"; s.src = "//an.yandex.ru/system/context.js"; s.async = true; , this.document, "yandexContextAsyncCallbacks");

There are also many islands of coral origin in this region. These are atolls that arose as a result of the growth of corals around submerged volcanoes (for example, the Gilbert Islands, Tuamotu). On such islands there are often large lagoons that are protected from open sea numerous islands, the average height above the water level does not exceed three meters.

In Oceania there is an atoll with the world's largest lagoon - Kwajalein (archipelago Marshall Islands). The ratio of its land area is striking - 16.32 km², but the area of the lagoon is 2174 km². This is what it says in the reference books, I had no idea before that the area of the island could be less area bay (lagoon).

There is another breakthrough atoll in Oceania. This time the largest in terms of land area. It is called Christmas Island (or Kiritimati) in the Line archipelago and has an area of 322 km².

Among atolls there is also a special type - raised (or elevated) atoll. Such an atoll is a limestone plateau with a height of up to 50-60 m above sea level. This type of island does not have a lagoon or there are traces of its existence in the past. Examples of such atolls are Nauru, Niue, and Banaba.

In the Oceania region, the bottom of the World Ocean has a complex structure. The region is characterized by active volcanism, seismicity and contrasting topography.

Oceania countries

The all-knowing Wikipedia gives the following classification:

Name of region, countries and country flag	Square (km²)	Population (est. July 2002)	Population density (persons/km²)	Capital	Currency
Australia
Australia	7 692 024	21 050 000	2,5	Canberra	AUD (Australian Dollar)
Ashmore and Cartier Islands (Australia)	5	uninhabited	-	-
Coral Sea Islands (Australia)	7	uninhabited	-	-
Norfolk Island (Australia)	35	1 866	53,3	Kingston	AUD (Australian Dollar)
Melanesia
	12 190	196 178	16,1	Port Vila	VUV (Vatu)
Irian Jaya()	421 981	2 646 489	6,27	Jayapura, Manokwari	IDR (Rupiah)
New Caledonia (France)	18 575	207 858	10,9	Noumea
Papua New Guinea	462 840	5 172 033	11,2	Port Moresby	PGK (Kina)
Solomon islands	28 450	494 786	17,4	Honiara	SBD (Solomon Islands Dollar)
Fiji	18 274	856 346	46,9	Suva	FJD (Fiji Dollar)
Micronesia
Guam (USA)	541	160 796	292,9	Hagatna	USD (USA Dollar)
Kiribati	811	96 335	118,8	South Tarawa	AUD (Australian Dollar)
	181	73 630	406,8	Majuro	USD (USA Dollar)
Federated States of Micronesia	702	135 869	193,5	Palikir	USD (USA Dollar)
Nauru	21	12 329	587,1		AUD (Australian Dollar)
Palau	458	19 409	42,4	Ngerulmud	USD (USA Dollar)
Northern Mariana Islands(USA)	463,63	77 311	162,1	Saipan	USD (USA Dollar)
Wake Atoll (USA)	7,4	-	-	-
Polynesia
Baker Island (USA)	1,24	uninhabited	-	-
Hawaii (USA)	28 311	1 211 537	72,83	Honolulu	USD (USA Dollar)
Jarvis Island (USA)	4,45	uninhabited	-	-
Johnston Atoll (USA)	2,52	-	-	-
Kingman Reef (USA)	0,01	uninhabited	-	-
Kiribati	811	96 335	118,8	South Tarawa	AUD (Australian Dollar)
Cook Islands (New Zealand)	236,7	20 811	86,7	Avarua	NZD (New Zealand Dollar)
Midway Islands(USA)	6,23	-	-	-
Niue (New Zealand)	261,46	2 134	8,2	Alofi	NZD (New Zealand Dollar)
New Zealand	268 680	4 108 037	14,5	Wellington	NZD (New Zealand Dollar)
Palmyra Atoll (USA)	6,56	-	-	-
Isla de Pascua (Chile)	163,6	5806	23,1	Hanga Roa	CLP (Chilean Pesso)
Pitcairn Islands (UK)	47	47	10	Adamstown	NZD (New Zealand Dollar)
French Polynesia (France)	4 167	257 847	61,9	Papeete	XPF (French Pacific Franc)
American Samoa (USA)	199	68 688	345,2	Pago Pago, Fagatogo	USD (USA Dollar)
Samoa	2 935	178 631	60,7	Apia	WST (Samoan tala)
Tokelau (New Zealand)	10	1 431	143,1	-	NZD (New Zealand Dollar)
Tonga	748	106 137	141,9	Nuku'alofa	TOP (Tongan pa'anga)
Tuvalu	26	11 146	428,7	Funafuti	AUD (Australian Dollar)
Wallis and Futuna (France)	274	15 585	56,9	Mata-Utu	XPF (French Pacific Franc)
Howland Island (USA)	1,62	uninhabited	-	-

Oceania. Climate

The prevailing climate is tropical. Oceania is characterized big amount precipitation. On the islands located closer to the tropical zone, the average annual temperature is +23 °C, on the islands near the equator – +27 °C.

Oceania's climate is influenced by currents such as La Niña and El Niño. Most of the islands of Oceania are negatively affected by active volcanoes. Tsunamis and typhoons also happen here.

There are sudden changes in weather conditions here - heavy rains give way to droughts.

Population of Oceania

Although colonialists from Europe and America actively tried to exploit these territories, the majority of the local population are indigenous people. Such as Micronesians, Polynesians, Papuans. Polynesians are mixed racial types - they show features of Caucasoids and Mongoloids.

The largest groups of Polynesians include Hawaiians, Maoris, Tongans, and Tahitians. Each nationality has its own language, the peculiarity of which is the almost complete absence of consonants.

Among the Melanesians, the linguistic fragmentation of the tribes is very large. Often residents of even neighboring villages cannot understand each other. The Papuans, as in Cook's time, inhabit some regions of Indonesia and New Guinea.

All Papuan languages are very similar to each other. But now they are based native language the same Cook who, according to legend, was eaten, i.e. English. So if you speak English, you can speak fluently and easily with a Papuan.

Flora of Oceania

Oceania has a large extent both in latitude and meridian. That's why vegetable world The islands are very diverse. There are representatives here that are completely surprising to us, such as:

breadfruit,
coconut palm,
ferns
orchids.

Animal world

The fauna of the islands of Oceania is less diverse, because mammals are practically absent.

Greatest variety In Okenia, New Zealand and New Guinea are different. On the small islands of Oceania, primarily atolls, there are almost no mammals: many of them are inhabited only by rats, and even then only a few (they are probably protected there!?).

But the islands are very rich in bird colonies where seabirds nest. Of the fauna of New Zealand, the most famous are the kiwi birds, which have become national symbol countries. Other common bird species are kea (or nestor), kakapo (or owl parrot), takahe (or wingless parakeet).

- a geographical, often geopolitical region of the world, consisting primarily of hundreds small islands and atolls in the central and western Pacific.

Total area of the islands- 1.26 million km² (together with Australia 8.52 million km²)
Population- 10.7 million people. (together with Australia 32.6 million people)
Divided into Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia; New Zealand is sometimes singled out.
The islands of Oceania are washed by numerous Pacific seas (Coral Sea, Tasman Sea, Fiji Sea, Koro Sea, Solomon Sea, New Guinea Sea, Philippine Sea) and Indian Oceans(Arafura Sea).

Geology

From a geological point of view, Oceania is not a continent: only Australia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, New Guinea and Tasmania are of continental origin, having formed on the site of the hypothetical continent of Gondwana. In the past, these islands were a single landmass, but as a result of rising sea levels, a significant part of the surface was under water. The relief of these islands is mountainous and highly dissected. For example, highest mountains Oceania, including Mount Jaya (5029 m. highest high point oceania) , located on the island of New Guinea.

Most of the islands of Oceania are of volcanic origin: some of them are the tops of large underwater volcanoes, some of which still exhibit high volcanic activity (for example, the Hawaiian Islands).

Climate

Oceania is located within a few climatic zones: equatorial, subequatorial, tropical, subtropical, temperate. Most of the islands have a tropical climate. Subequatorial climate prevails on the islands near Australia and Asia, equatorial climate - west of the 180th meridian, tropical climate - north and south of the tropics, temperate climate - on most of the South Island in New Zealand.

The climate of the islands of Oceania is determined mainly by trade winds, so most of them receive heavy rainfall.
On the climate of the islands of Oceania big influence Anomalies such as the El Niño and La Niña currents also have an effect. During El Niño, the intertropical convergence zone moves north toward the equator; during La Niña, it moves south away from the equator. In the latter case, the islands experience severe drought, while in the former, heavy rains.

Most of the islands of Oceania are subject to the destructive effects of natural disasters: volcanic eruptions(Hawaiian Islands, New Hebrides), earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones accompanied by typhoons and heavy rains, droughts. Many of them lead to significant material and human losses. For example, the tsunami in Papua New Guinea in July 1999 killed 2,200 people.

On South Island In New Zealand and on the island of New Guinea, there are glaciers high in the mountains, but due to the process of global warming, their area is gradually decreasing.

Soils and hydrology

Due to various climatic conditions Oceania's soils are very diverse. The soils of the atolls are highly alkaline, of coral origin, and very poor. They are usually porous, which is why they retain moisture very poorly, and also contain very little organic and mineral substances with the exception of calcium, sodium and magnesium. The soils of volcanic islands are usually of volcanic origin and are characterized by high fertility. On large mountainous islands there are red-yellow, mountain lateritic, mountain-meadow, yellow-brown soils, yellow soils, and red soils.

There are large rivers only on the South and North Islands of New Zealand, as well as on the island of New Guinea, on which largest rivers Oceania, Sepik (1126 km) and Fly (1050 km).

The largest river in New Zealand is the Waikato (425 km).

Flora and fauna

Kiwi is the symbol of New Zealand.

Oceania is included in the Paleotropical region of vegetation, with three subregions distinguished: Malesian, Hawaiian and New Zealand. Among the most widespread plants in Oceania are the coconut palm and the breadfruit tree, which play an important role in life local residents: the fruits are used for food, the wood is a source of heat, a building material, and copra is produced from the oily endosperm of coconut palm nuts, which forms the basis of exports for the countries of this region. A large number of epiphytes (ferns, orchids) also grow on the islands.

The fauna of Oceania belongs to the Polynesian faunal region with a subregion Hawaiian Islands. The fauna of New Zealand is allocated to an independent region, New Guinea - to the Papuan subregion of the Australian region. New Zealand and New Guinea are the most diverse. On the small islands of Oceania, primarily atolls, mammals are almost never found: many of them are inhabited only by the Polynesian rat. But the local avifauna is very rich. Most atolls have bird colonies where seabirds nest. Of the fauna of New Zealand, the most famous are the kiwi birds, which have become the national symbol of the country. Other endemic species of the country are kea, kakapo, and takahe. All the islands of Oceania are home to a large number of lizards, snakes and insects.

Minerals

Most of the islands of Oceania have no mineral resources, only the largest of them are being developed: nickel (New Caledonia), oil and gas (New Guinea island, New Zealand), copper (Bougainville island in Papua New Guinea), gold (New Guinea , Fiji), phosphates (on most islands the deposits are almost or already developed, for example, in Nauru, on the islands of Banaba, Makatea). In the past, many islands in the region were heavily mined for guano, the decomposed droppings of seabirds, which were used as nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer. On the ocean floor of the exclusive economic zone of a number of countries there are large accumulations of iron-manganese nodules, as well as cobalt, but at the moment no development is being carried out due to economic inexpediency.

Welcome to best blog about traveling to Oceania.

Oceania is a million islands scattered in the South Pacific Ocean between Australia and South America, and the most rarely visited part of the world by tourists, so the editors of our site traveled for you to the most distant archipelagos and brought photographs and stories (almost guidebooks!) about the most powerful tics and the most sacred marae.

Oceania is divided into three regions: Micronesia (in the northwest; this is where - and), Melanesia (in the west; here is Papua, and) and Polynesia (in the east and south; here are, for example, and). The division is not based directly on geography, climate, or geology, but ethnographic - the boundaries of the parts run along the boundaries of races, peoples and linguistic groups.

This is a catalog page and a guide page: here full list states of Oceania (large ones are divided into archipelagos), and then - links to stories about the islands:

Polynesia

Hawaii, USA

Cook Islands

New Zealand

Pitcairn Island

Easter Island (Rapa Nui)

Samoa

Tonga

Tuvalu

Wallis and Futuna

French polynesia

Usually no one knows what French Polynesia is and where it is, but in fact everything is simple: French Polynesia is a grandiose island country the size of Western Europe, a French overseas territory in the South Pacific, consists of approximately six (6) scattered Pacific Ocean archipelagos. From the westernmost Society archipelago (where the capital island of Tahiti is) to the easternmost Gambier archipelago is a 4-hour flight by turboprop aircraft.

Society Islands

Marquesas Islands

Tuamotu Islands

Rapa Iti Island

Micronesia

Guam, USA

Kiribati

Marshall Islands

Federated States of Micronesia

State on Caroline Islands, shares them with Palau. Not to be confused with the geographic region Micronesia. F.S.M., in the manner of the United States, has 4 states: Yap, Koshrai, Pohnpei and Truk/Chuuk. Islands F.S.M. connected only by a common colonial past, first under Spain, then Germany, Japan and the USA (from which they gained independence en masse and became, in fact, Federated States Micronesia).

Yap Island

Truk Island (Chuuk)

The most dangerous place in Oceania: the local population, when drinking in the evening, is very unkind. But, at the same time, this is the coolest place for diving in all of Oceania: at the bottom of a crystal-clear lagoon on the white sand lie ships and planes sunk in World War II.

It might be useful to read: