The main activities on the islands of Oceania. Oceania
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 separate part geopolitical region. It consists of large quantity atolls and islands that are located in the central and western parts 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. The islands, which are located closer to the 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 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 predominant trees are pandanus, bamboos, ficus, and casuarinas. 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 echidnas, tree kangaroos, crocodiles, and kiwi birds. 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 home to an active volcano that has not subsided 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.
Oceania is the largest collection of islands, located in the central and western parts of the Pacific Ocean (see Fig. 1).
About 10 thousand islands of Oceania are scattered over a vast territory from the subtropical latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere to the temperate latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere. Most of the islands are grouped into archipelagos: New Zealand, Hawaii, Fiji, Tuamotu, etc. This location plays an important role for the nature of the islands.
Oceania is divided into three parts: Melanesia (translated from Greek as “Black Islands”), Micronesia (“small islands”), Polynesia (“Many Islands”).
Rice. 1. Map of Oceania
Islands and their origin
Origin, geographical position and the size of the islands of Oceania is closely related to the structure of the Pacific Ocean floor. They are a surface reflection of the underwater oceanic relief, because the islands have their foundations on the ocean floor.
The islands of Oceania have different origins: continental, volcanic and coral.
The relief of volcanic islands is mountainous, while that of coral islands is low-lying. On the vast mainland islands, mountains are combined with plains.
Mainland Islands were formerly parts of the mainland, and were separated from it due to the sinking of land areas below sea level. These islands are located on the shelf.
For example, several tens of thousands of years ago largest island Oceania - New Guinea - was connected to Australia by a 150-kilometer bridge. Its lowering is only
30 m led to the formation of the Torres Strait. The islands of New Zealand are also of continental origin (see Fig. 2).
Rice. 2. Mainland Island (New Zealand)
Volcanic Islands are the surface peaks of the largest underwater volcanoes, the bases of which lie at great depths (up to 5 km) (see Fig. 3).
These islands are small, rocky, topped by the cones of extinct or active volcanoes. They are located mainly in groups. For example, the Hawaiian Islands are 24 islands and stretch over 2,500 km. They are formed by powerful outpourings of lava from underwater and land-based volcanic eruptions millions of years ago. The largest of the islands, Hawaii, is formed by extinct and active volcanoes. Among them is the most high peak in Polynesia - the Mauna Kea volcano (4,210 m).
Rice. 3. Volcanic Island
Coral Islands formed by marine organisms - coral polyps living inside limestone skeletons (see Fig. 4). Clusters of coral skeletons form reefs– elongated strips – or atolls– small ring-shaped islands.
Rice. 4. Coral Island
The foundation for corals is usually the top of an underwater volcano. Therefore, many volcanic islands are surrounded by coral reefs. All coral structures rise above the water only a few meters. That's why the coral islands are low. They rarely rise above 5 m above ocean level and are barely noticeable among the expanses of water. That is why legends say that the inhabitants of Oceania “fished out” their islands from the ocean floor.
Climate
The climate is warm and mild, since most of the islands lie in equatorial and tropical latitudes; only New Zealand is temperate.
Air temperatures are high, but the heat is softened by moist winds from the ocean. They cause heavy rains, so the amount of precipitation is large - more than 4,000 mm per year.
On the windward slopes of high volcanoes Hawaiian Islands is the wettest place on Earth: 12,500 mm of precipitation falls there per year. But on the leeward slopes there is very little precipitation (200 mm). Tropical cyclones arise in Oceania, which are called typhoons in the Northern Hemisphere, and hurricanes in the Southern Hemisphere. Most of them occur in the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean. They lead to great destruction. However, in general, despite these dangerous natural phenomena, it is never cold or hot on the islands. Therefore, the climate of Oceania is considered the most comfortable on Earth.
Organic world
The isolation of the islands is the reason for the uniqueness of their organic world. Life is poorest on small and relatively young coral islands; on mainland islands it is richer and more diverse.
Due to the difference in moisture (either a lot or little precipitation), both evergreen moist forests and dry savannas are common.
Coconut and sago palms, melon and breadfruit trees, ficus trees, and orchids grow in the forests. Among the wild plants there are many useful ones - trees with valuable wood (ironwood and sandalwood), plants with juicy fruits (papaya, mango, bananas); plants that produce spices (ginger, nutmeg, pepper). However, the first place undoubtedly belongs to the coconut palm (see Fig. 5).
Rice. 5. Coconut tree
Coral islands with poor soils, lying in a thin layer on coral limestones, have poor herbaceous vegetation. Their only decoration is groves of coconut palms. Interestingly, volcanic and coral islands were populated by plants with the help of wind, currents and even birds that carried their pollen, seeds, and nuts.
Oceania has many endemic species - species of plants and animals that are found nowhere else. For example, tree ferns and cabbage trees grow only in New Zealand. Nowadays, natural forests on the islands are almost eliminated. In their place were plantations of agricultural crops.
Animal world the islands are poor. Among terrestrial animals there are almost no mammals (except mice and rats).
But there are a lot of birds of paradise, pigeons, parrots, weed chickens. The lack of predators led to the appearance of birds without wings - kaguya and kiwi. There are no poisonous snakes on the islands. There are reptiles - geckos, iguanas, lizards, hatteria. The waters surrounding the reefs and islands are home to flying fish, sharks, sea turtles and snakes. Humans played a major role in the spread of animals. The dogs, cats, and pigs he brought multiplied greatly and subsequently went wild.
The giant Moa bird that no longer exists
Before the arrival of man, New Zealand was a kingdom of birds. Mammals, with the exception of a few species of bats, did not exist here. The queen of this feathered state was the giant moa bird...
Its largest specimens reached two meters at the shoulder and weighed more than 200 kg. Females were almost twice as heavy as males.
The giant moa had a natural enemy - the giant eagle, the largest bird of prey on the planet (see Fig. 6).
Rice. 6. Image of the Moa bird
Bibliography
MainI
1. Geography. Land and people. 7th grade: Textbook for general education. uch. / A.P. Kuznetsov, L.E. Savelyeva, V.P. Dronov, series “Spheres”. – M.: Education, 2011.
2. Geography. Land and people. 7th grade: atlas. Series "Spheres".
Additional
1. N.A. Maksimov. Behind the pages of a geography textbook. – M.: Enlightenment.
1. Russian Geographical Society ().
3. Tutorial by geography ().
4. Gazetteer ().
Ocean Islands– the most exotic and unusual travel destination. It is enough that when a fierce winter is raging in our homeland, it is the height of summer in the Southern Hemisphere. And although people there do not walk upside down, and the water does not swirl in the opposite direction, the lands of Oceania remain for many a real terra incognita.
What is Oceania?
The boundaries of Oceania are quite arbitrary. It is essentially a cluster of islands in the central and western Pacific Ocean. Easter Island is considered the eastern point, and New Guinea. Geographers combine Oceania with Australia and consider these lands to be a separate part of the world.
The rather long list includes islands such as New Zealand, New Guinea, Fiji, Easter, Solomon, Hawaii and many others. Most of the islands were formed due to volcanic activity, and many fire-breathing mountains still pose a danger.
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea covers an area comparable in area to Sweden and actually connects Australia and Asia. Long before European sailors and Miklouho-Maclay, Indonesian rulers sent their envoys here to hunt exotic birds and labor force. The name of the island was given by the Portuguese Don Jorge de Menezes, clearly alluding to the hair of the aborigines: “Papua” in Malay language means "curly". More than 820 languages are spoken here - this is due to some isolation of the tribes from each other due to the mountainous terrain.
Fiji
Fiji is an archipelago of 332 islands, of which only a third are inhabited. Europeans discovered the Fiji Islands in the 17th century, but did not risk establishing colonies there until the 19th century. There was only one reason - cannibalism of the aborigines. The leader had unquestionable authority and power. In the villages, a respectful attitude towards the head of the tribe is still preserved: only he is allowed to wear sunglasses and hats. But as for tourists... it is difficult to find more hospitable people. Here you will be treated to the most unusual dishes: boiled bat, stew in banana leaves and even fried snake. However, beauty tropical forests and the diverse underwater world of Fiji, for which it is highly valued by divers, is short-lived: due to climate change, the corals to which the island owes its origin are under threat - environmental communities are sounding the alarm.
New Zealand
New Zealand (or "Land of the Long White Cloud") was discovered in 1642 by the Dutch sailor Abel Tasman. The local tribes at that time definitely did not like the white-skinned Europeans... It is now New Zealand that is considered the most safe country peace. The next person to venture here was James Cook in 1769, and he also contributed to the inclusion new country into English possessions. The symbol of the island is the wingless, timid kiwi bird - that’s what New Zealanders call themselves. Well, Tolkien fans cannot help but know that all parts of the Lord of the Rings trilogy were filmed among local landscapes, and during special tours You can see Hobbiton and the Baggins' home with your own eyes.
The Solomon Islands are little known in the world. This is due to the distance from other geographical objects. Meanwhile, there is a constant mild climate and uniquely beautiful nature. For example, to the list World Heritage UNESCO is about to include the Marovo salt lagoon with sparkling blue water - the largest in the world. There is also the highest coral island - East Rennell. Tengano is such a large freshwater lake in the southern hemisphere that its waters include 200 islands. As for the inhabitants, their manners and habits are quite curious. For example, many of them still worship sharks. The Aborigines before the arrival of missionaries were primarily headhunters. By the way, about 10% of dark-skinned Solomon Islanders are blond. The reason for this is a mutation that appeared many centuries ago - it has nothing to do with the settlements of Europeans.
Animal and plant life
The flora and fauna of the islands of Oceania amazes the imagination seasoned tourists its exoticism. What a breadfruit tree is worth! “He who plants a breadfruit tree will do more to feed his descendants than a farmer who spends his whole life cultivating the field by the sweat of his brow,” wrote James Cook. One plant can produce up to 700-800 “breads” - special fruits with sweetish pulp, from which peculiar rolls are “baked”. Sago palms in New Guinea provide starch that is used to make delicious pancakes. In abundance in tropical forests you can find cake trees - the sweet taste of their fruit is truly reminiscent of confectionery. Well, there are countless bananas and coconuts - without these fruits the aborigines would not be able to survive.
People with entomophobia - fear of insects - have nothing to do on the islands of Oceania. Huge spiders, poisonous flies and giant butterflies are quite capable of frightening and even causing harm. In the jungle there is a danger of stepping on a snake - or it will dive off the branch itself. In contrast to the dangers, there is the indescribable beauty of birds of paradise and the touching faces of marsupials. By the way, opossums, as many people mistakenly believe, are not found in Oceania: possums live there. This confusion arose during the research of James Cook - the expedition biologist attributed marsupials to opossums living in America.
Go diving, lie on the best coral beaches in the world, ride alpine skiing, see a parrot in its natural habitat and have the most romantic wedding - this is not a complete list of what newly opened hotels offer tourists Oceania islands.
Pavilion “Around the World. Asia, Africa, Latin America, Australia and Oceania"
ETHNOMIR, Kaluga region, Borovsky district, Petrovo village
In the ethnographic park-museum "ETNOMIR" - amazing place. The “City” street is built inside a spacious pavilion, so Mira Street is always warm, light and good weather– just right for an exciting walk, especially since within the framework of the latter you can make an entire trip around the world. Like any street popular with tourists, it has its own attractions, workshops, street artisans, cafes and shops located inside and outside the 19 houses.
The facades of the buildings are made in different ethnic styles. Each house is a “quote” from the life and traditions of a certain country. The very appearance of the houses begins the story of distant lands.
Step inside and you will be surrounded by new, unfamiliar objects, sounds and smells. The color scheme and decoration, furniture, interior and household items - all this helps to plunge into the atmosphere of distant countries, to understand and feel their uniqueness.
The fauna of Oceania, like the flora, is much richer in its western part and poorer in the eastern part. In general, the fauna of the islands of Oceania is typically island, depleted in mammals and at the same time endemic.
The fauna of Oceania is divided into three zoogeographical regions: Australian (Papuan subregion). Polynesian and New Zealand.
In the Papuan subregion (Australian region), which includes New Guinea, the Bismarck, Louisiad and Solomon Islands archipelagos, the fauna is much richer and more diverse than the other two regions. Oviparous echidnas and prochidnas, tree kangaroos, cuscuses, opossums and other marsupials live here, and there are representatives of Asian fauna (for example, wild boar). The world of birds is very rich (up to 650 species), represented by cassowaries, lyrebirds, cockatoos, weed chickens, various types pigeons and birds of paradise. There are crocodiles in the rivers. Many different insects.
The fauna of the New Zealand region is much poorer than the Papuan subregion. Mammals found almost exclusively are bats and rats. Birds include wingless kiwis and two species of parrots. Of the reptiles, the almost extinct tuateria is interesting.
Even poorer and most endemic animal world Polynesian region. The fauna here has almost no animals, reptiles and amphibians. Mammals are represented by a few species of bats and dogs. In the extreme southeast they completely disappear. The species composition of birds is richer, but there are also fewer of them here than in western Oceania. Few freshwater fish and insects.
The island character of the very poor, exclusively endemic fauna of the Hawaiian Islands is sharply expressed. Among the birds, the flower family stands out; one family of land mollusks, numbering several hundred species, is widespread.
Lory
Gecko
Varan Gulda.
Gulda's monitor lizard, seeing an enemy or rival, stands up, leaning on its tail, to its full height and opens its mouth threateningly. The lizard's body is sometimes up to 1.5 m in length. When night falls, the monitor lizard goes out hunting and catches small rodents and sometimes birds.
Kiwi bird
Blue (small) penguin
Marsupial anteater.
The marsupial anteater is a big fan of termites and hunts for them all day long. The animal carefully sniffs the ground in search of underground passages these insects. Having smelled prey, it sits on its hind legs and begins to rake the ground in order to stick its long tongue inside. The marsupial anteater eats up to 20,000 termites per day.
Platypus.
The platypus looks for food at the bottom of rivers: it dives and digs through mud with its nose, similar to a duck's beak. There, between the stones, fish and larvae hide. Having grabbed its prey, the platypus rises to the surface to feed in peace. In summer, the animal feeds intensively and stores grass in its nest, since in winter the water cools and there are fewer fish.
Flying couscous.
Flying cuscus lives on the tops of trees and very rarely falls to the ground. The front paws are connected to the rear by wide leather membranes. Thanks to this, the animal can jump and glide between trees and sometimes fly up to 45 meters.
Animals of Oceania
Animals of Oceania are divided into “wandering” ones, capable of actively or passively settling on islands, overcoming a water barrier, and autochthons, which do not have such an ability and are endemic species for one or another island.
Herons, frigate birds, bitterns, geese, ducks, sea swallows, snipe cuckoos, pigeons and other birds nest on all the islands of Oceania.
Frugivorous flying foxes and insectivorous bats are widespread throughout almost all of Oceania. Amphibians and reptiles include blind snakes, leatherback turtles and geckos.
Among the autochthons of New Zealand we can name the kiwi bird, New Caledonia - the kaga bird, Hawaii - the flower bird, etc.
European colonialists greatly changed the fauna of Oceania, exterminating a number of native species, and introducing many new animals from other parts of the world. All the islands are inhabited by pigs brought by the colonialists and later turned feral (for example, the Papuan pig). Mice and rats appeared, accidentally brought in and spread almost everywhere. Especially many animals were brought to New Zealand. Among them, cows, horses and sheep became the basis of the country's agricultural production.
Howler monkeys
Koala.
Reminds me of a koala little bear: The animal has thick fur, a large nose and furry ears. Koalas live in trees in forests. All day long they tear and eat leaves. After eating, the koala tightly grabs the trunk and rests. A female koala only has one baby. Like a kangaroo, a female koala carries her baby in a pouch on her belly. After 6 months, the baby leaves the purse and travels on his mother’s back, tightly clinging to her with his paws.
Cassowary.
The cassowary is a very large bird, its weight can reach 50 kg and its height is one and a half meters. The bird feeds on fruits and mushrooms that have fallen to the ground. The cassowary is a large, fancy bird. She has an almost round body, a high bony crest on her head, and her neck is covered with wrinkled skin.
Scat
Shark
Coral reef.
A coral reef consists of billions of microorganisms and small animals that build limestone houses in the warm sea, placing them close to each other. Australia's Great Coral Reef stretches for almost 2,400 km. This is real underwater fairy world, where a great variety of amazingly beautiful animals live - colorful fish, sea anemones, starfish...
Welcome to the 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 it is French polynesia and where it is, but in fact everything is simple: French Polynesia is grandiose island country the size of Western Europe, overseas territory France in the South Pacific, consists of approximately six (6) scattered Pacific Ocean archipelagos. From the very western archipelago Society (where the capital island of Tahiti is) to the extreme eastern Gambier archipelago is a 4-hour flight on a turboprop plane.
Society Islands
Marquesas Islands
Tuamotu Islands
Rapa Iti Island
Micronesia
Guam, USA
Kiribati
Marshall Islands
Federated States of Micronesia
A country in the Caroline Islands, shared 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.
