Oceania is a vast, arbitrarily defined expanse of the world where the Pacific Ocean – rather than land borders – connects the nations. It is home to glistening white beaches, coconut palms swaying in the breeze, beautiful coral reefs, and rugged volcanic islands rising out of the blue ocean.
There is nowhere else quite likeAustralia, nicknamed the Land Down Under, the only country that has a whole continent to itself. With Indigenous cultures that go back over 65,000 years and truly global immigration in modern times, the country is famous for its natural wonders, wide open spaces, beaches, deserts, "the bush", and "theOutback".
New Zealand is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, a country of stunning and diverse natural beauty: jagged mountains, rolling pasture land, steep fiords, pristine trout-filled lakes, raging rivers, scenic beaches, and active volcanic zones.
Polynesia is the most far-flung, easterly region of Oceania. A collection of island paradises, many aspects of Polynesian cultures have been exported around the world through media and tourism campaigns.
Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends fromNew Guinea in the west to the Fiji Islands in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
Micronesia, in northwest Oceania, is the home of tropical and subtropical islands in the Pacific Ocean. With the exceptions of Kiribati and Nauru, most ofMicronesia is associated with the United States.
The Independent State ofPapua New Guinea comprises the eastern part of the world's largest and highest tropical island,New Guinea, together with many smaller offshore islands.
About Mapcarta. A heartfelt thank you toMapbox for providing outstanding maps. Text is available under theCC BY-SA 4.0 license, except for photos, directions and the map. Description text is based on the Wikivoyage page "Oceania". Photo:Theo Crazzolara,CC BY 2.0.