Inhabitants of the oceanic islands. Geography of Oceania: characteristics of the region, climate, animals, plants, population and countries

The fauna of Oceania, like the flora, is much richer in its western part and poorer in its eastern part. In general, the fauna of the islands of Oceania is typically insular, depleted in mammals and at the same time endemic.

The fauna of Oceania is divided into three zoogeographic regions: Australian (Papuan subregion). Polynesian and New Zealand.

In the Papuan sub-region (Australian region), which includes New Guinea, the Bismarck archipelagos, the Louisiades and the Solomon Islands, the fauna is much richer and more diverse than the other two regions. Oviparous echidna and proechidna, tree kangaroos, couscous, opossums and other marsupials live here, 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 of pigeons and birds of paradise. There are crocodiles in the rivers. Lots of different insects.

The fauna of the New Zealand region is much poorer than the Papuan subregion. Of the mammals, bats and rats are found almost exclusively. Of the birds, wingless kiwis and two species of parrots are characteristic. Of the reptiles, the almost extinct tuatara is interesting.

The fauna of the Polynesian region is even poorer and most endemic. 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 the west of Oceania. Few freshwater fish and insects.

The insular character of the very poor, exclusively endemic fauna of the Hawaiian Islands is pronounced. Of the birds, a family of flower girls stands out, one family of land mollusks is common, numbering several hundred species.

Lory

Gecko

Varan Gulda.
Gulda monitor lizard, seeing an enemy or rival, gets up, leaning on his tail, to his full height and opens his mouth menacingly. The body of a lizard is sometimes up to 1.5 m in length. With the onset of night, the monitor lizard goes 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 them all day long. The animal carefully sniffs the ground in search of underground passages of these insects. Sensing prey, he sits on his hind legs and begins to rake the ground in order to stick his long tongue inside. The marsupial anteater eats up to 20,000 termites per day.

Platypus.
The platypus searches for food at the bottom of rivers: it dives and digs silt with a nose that looks like a duck's beak. There, between the stones, fish and larvae hide. Having seized the prey, the platypus rises to the surface to eat in peace. In summer, the animal feeds intensively and stores grass in its nest, because in winter the water cools and the fish become smaller.

Flying couscous.
Flying couscous lives in the tops of trees and very rarely descends to the ground. The front paws are connected to the back wide leather membranes. Thanks to this, the animal can, jumping, plan between trees and sometimes flies up to 45 meters.

Animals of Oceania

Animals of Oceania are divided into "wandering", capable of actively or passively settling on the islands, overcoming a water barrier, and autochthonous, who do not have this ability and are endemic species for one or another island.

Herons, frigatebirds, bitterns, geese, ducks, barn swallows, snipe cuckoos, pigeons and other birds nest on all the islands of Oceania.

Almost throughout Oceania, fruit-eating flying foxes and insect-eating bats are widespread. Amphibians and reptiles include blind snakes, leatherback turtles and geckos.

Of the autochthons of New Zealand, one can name the kiwi bird, New Caledonia - the kagu bird, Hawaii - flower girls, etc.

European colonizers greatly changed the fauna of Oceania, exterminating a number of local species, and brought many new animals from other parts of the world. On all the islands live pigs brought by the colonizers, then run wild (for example, the Papuan pig). Mice and rats appeared, brought by chance and spread almost everywhere. Especially a lot of animals were brought to New Zealand. Among them, cows, horses and sheep became the basis of the country's agricultural production.

howler monkeys

Koala.
The koala resembles a small bear: the animal has thick fur, a large nose and furry ears. Koalas live in forests on trees. All day long they tear and eat leaves. After eating, the koala grabs the trunk tightly and rests. A female koala has only one cub. Like the kangaroo, the female koala bears her cub in a pouch on her belly. After 6 months, the baby leaves the purse and travels on his mother's back, firmly clinging to her paws.

Cassowary.
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 big fancy bird. She has an almost round body, a high bone crest on her head, and her neck is covered with wrinkled skin.

stingray

Shark

Coral reef.
The coral reef consists of billions of microorganisms and small animals that build lime houses in the warm sea, placing them close to each other. The Australian Great Coral Reef stretches for almost 2,400 km. This is a real underwater fairy-tale world, where a great number of amazingly beautiful animals live - colorful fish, sea anemones, starfish ...

Welcome to the best Oceania travel blog.

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 have traveled around the most distant archipelagos for you and brought photos and stories (almost guides!) About the most powerful tics and most sacred marae.

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

This is a catalog page and a guide page: here is a complete list of the 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 Ocean, consists of about 6 (six) archipelagos scattered across the Pacific Ocean . From the westernmost archipelago of the Society (where the capital island of Tahiti is) to the easternmost archipelago of Gambier - 4 hours of flight on a turboprop aircraft.

Society Islands

marquesas islands

Tuamotu Islands

Rapa Iti Island

micronesia

Guam, USA

Kiribati

Marshall Islands

Federated States of Micronesia

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

Yap Island

Truk Island (Chuuk)

The most dangerous place in Oceania: the local people, when they drink in the evening, are 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 white sand, ships and planes sunk in World War II lie.

Geographical position of Oceania, countries and dependent territories of Oceania

Geology and climate of Oceania, soils and hydrology of Oceania, economy and culture of Oceania, Melanesia, Micronesia, New Zealand and Polynesia

Section 1. Main characteristics of Oceania.

Section 2. Physical and geographical countries of Oceania.

Oceania- This part of the world; a geographic, often geopolitical region of the world consisting predominantly of hundreds of small islands and atolls in the central and western Pacific Ocean.

Key Features of Oceania

Oceania is the world's largest cluster of islands located in the western and central parts of the Pacific Ocean, between the subtropical latitudes of the northern and temperate southern hemispheres. When all the land is divided into parts of the world, Oceania is usually combined with Australia into a single part of the world Australia and Oceania, although sometimes it is separated into an independent part of the world.

Oceania is a large number of islands (about ten thousand) located in the center and South - West of the Pacific Ocean. Oceania is located between the Malay Archipelago and Australia. It is divided into Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, sometimes New Zealand is distinguished. The total area of the islands is about 1.25 million square kilometers. These islands are inhabited by approximately 18 million people.

The basis of Oceania is New Zealand (South and North Islands), and New Guinea. These islands make up 4/5 of the entire territory. The islands of western Micronesia and Melanesia are a large mountain range rising from the bottom of the ocean, the peaks are above the water. These islands are craters of underwater volcanoes: Samoa, Cook, Easter, Hawaiian, Marquesas.

In Hawaii: Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, if you count from the bottom of the ocean, reach nine thousand meters. But mostly Micronesia and Polynesia islands of animal origin (atolls) are coral. They grew out of underwater volcanic craters.

Oceania is a kind of natural wonder, each island is its own world, with its own charms. The flora is very diverse. Some islands have vegetation of all climatic zones. The characteristic tree of Oceania is the coconut palm. Its wood is used for construction, ropes are woven from palm fibers. Coconut oil is used to make soap and margarine.

The total area of the islands is 1.26 million km² (together with Australia 8.52 million km²), the population is about 10.7 million people. (together with Australia 32.6 million people). Geographically, Oceania is subdivided into Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia; sometimes New Zealand is singled out.

In the Pacific Ocean, in its central and western parts, there is the largest cluster of islands on the globe, with a total area of about 1.26 million km2, most of which are grouped into archipelagos. All the islands are united under the name of Oceania. The development of Oceania took place in conditions of prolonged isolation from the mainland, which determines the deep originality of its landscapes. It manifests itself both in the geological structure and relief, and in high endemism and poverty of the species composition of flora and fauna, especially on the most remote eastern islands. These reasons give grounds for distinguishing Oceania as a special part of the world with the dominance of oceanic landscapes, which has no analogues on the continents. The geological structure of the islands of Oceania is in direct connection with the structure of the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Almost all islands are of coral or volcanic origin. In the central part of Oceania (in Polynesia and eastern Micronesia), they represent the peaks of underwater volcanoes, crowning underwater ridges, erected by powerful outpourings of basaltic lavas at the end of the Neogene and in the Quaternary period along the fault lines of the ancient oceanic platform of the Pacific Ocean floor. The formation of coral islands took place in the Quaternary due to ecstatic fluctuations in the level of the Pacific Ocean and deflections of sections of its bottom. The islands, concentrated on the western margin of Oceania, lie in the zones of geosynclinal structures framing the central platform, and are (according to V.V. Belousov) the peaks of grandiose underwater ridges - advanced structures of geosynclinal zones. From the outer (oceanic) side, these islands are framed by deep-water depressions, which are extremely clearly expressed in the topography of the ocean floor due to the extremely slow processes of drift and accumulation of sediments. Mountain-building movements in the peripheral Pacific geosynclines were actively manifested in the Mesozoic and Alpine cycles, but have not ended at the present time, as evidenced by frequent and strong earthquakes and active volcanism on the islands. The islands of western Oceania are the largest and most mountainous. Among them, New Zealand and New Guinea stand out for their size and high mountain relief, which account for 80% of the land area of Oceania. The islands are scattered in latitudes from subtropical in the northern hemisphere to temperate in the southern (they lie between 28 ° 25 "N and 52 ° 30" S and 130 ° E and 105 ° 20" W) , but most of them are concentrated in the subequatorial belts, which determines the main features of the course of temperatures and the humidification regime. The influence of land affects the climate of the islands closest to Australia and Southeast Asia.

The rest are characterized by small daily and seasonal amplitudes of high temperatures, constantly high relative humidity and a large amount of precipitation, due to the exceptional dominance of sea air masses. The average temperatures of the warmest months (August in the northern hemisphere, February in the southern) vary from 25°С in the north to 16°С in the south, the coldest (February and August) from 16°С to 5°С. Sharp fluctuations in seasonal and daily temperatures are typical only for mountainous islands, on which altitudinal climatic zones are manifested. In New Zealand and New Guinea, altitudinal climatic zones end with a nival climate. Average annual rainfall is extremely variable depending on the orography. Humid winds (mainly trade winds of both hemispheres) rush freely over low small islands, but rise along the windward slopes of high mountainous islands, on which heavy orographic rains fall (in some places up to 9000 mm or more). This creates sharp climatic and landscape contrasts on the slopes of different exposures. Evergreen moist forests grow on the windward slopes, a dense network of full-flowing rivers develops, erosion and chemical weathering of rocks proceed actively, and podzolization of lateritic soils occurs. The leeward slopes are dominated by mixed (deciduous-evergreen) forests, xerophytic light forests and peculiar oceanic savannahs with hard grasses, pandanus, and groves of coconut palms. The low islands, where mainly cyclonic precipitation of tropical fronts falls, are covered with oceanic savannas, forests of coconut palms and pandanus, mangroves (mainly on coral islands) and even semi-desert vegetation, outcrops of dense, unweathered basalts are completely bare. The large islands of Oceania were centers of flora formation. At the same time, many plant species migrated to the islands from Australia, and mainly from the Malay Archipelago and Southeast Asia, as a result of which almost all of Oceania is included in the Malesian floristic subregion of the Paleotropics, which is extremely poor in species composition and highly endemic. The question of the distribution of organisms in Oceania remains unresolved. It is generally believed that migration occurred over temporary land bridges. On the other hand, one should not underestimate the role of winds, currents, birds, and, finally, people who, even in ancient times, made long voyages between the archipelagos. New Zealand and the Hawaiian Islands, which are classified as special subregions, have the greatest endemism of the flora. Among the plants of Oceania, there are many useful for humans coconut and sago palms, bananas, rubber plants, mangoes, melon and breadfruit trees.

Many tropical crops are grown on the islands - pineapples, bananas, sugar cane, etc. The ocean expanses present great difficulties for the resettlement of animals, therefore the composition of the fauna in Oceania is very specific, characterized by great depletion, primarily due to the almost complete absence of mammals. For this reason, most of Oceania is allocated to the Polynesian zoogeographic region. On the islands there are a lot of well-flying birds (swifts, pigeons, etc.) and there are some small animals (mainly bats, dogs and foxes, lizards), as well as insects that were accidentally brought on the trunks of floating trees. Imported animals and birds caused great harm to the fauna of Oceania, many of which occupied empty ecological niches, found a favorable environment for reproduction, and sometimes completely destroyed not only local animals, but also the vegetation cover. Regional landscape differences make it possible to single out four physiographic countries in Oceania: Melanesia, Micronesia, New Zealand and Polynesia.

The islands of Oceania are washed by numerous seas of the Pacific (Coral Sea, Tasman Sea, Fiji Sea, Koro Sea, Solomon Sea, New Guinea Sea, Philippine Sea) and Indian Oceans (Arafur Sea).

From the point of view of geology, 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 Gondwana. In the past, these islands were a single land, but as a result of the rise in the level of the World Ocean, a significant part of the surface was under water. The relief of these islands is mountainous and strongly dissected. For example, the highest mountains of Oceania, including Mount Jaya (5029 m), are 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 show high volcanic activity (for example, the Hawaiian Islands).

Other islands are of coral origin, being atolls that were formed as a result of the formation of coral structures around submerged volcanoes (for example, the Gilbert Islands, Tuamotu). A distinctive feature of such islands are large lagoons, which are surrounded by numerous islets, or motu, the average height of which does not exceed three meters. In Oceania, there is an atoll with the largest lagoon in the world - Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands archipelago. Despite the fact that its land area is only 16.32 km² (or 6.3 sq. miles), the area of the lagoon is 2174 km² (or 839.3 sq. miles). The largest atoll in terms of land area is Christmas Island (or Kiritimati) in the Line archipelago (or Central Polynesian Sporades) - 322 km². However, among the atolls there is also a special type - an elevated (or elevated) atoll, which is a limestone plateau up to 50-60 m above sea level. This type of island has no lagoon or traces of its past existence. Examples of such atolls are Nauru, Niue, Banaba.

The relief and geological structure of the bottom of the Pacific Ocean in the Oceania region has a complex structure. From the Alaska Peninsula (which is part of North America) to New Zealand, there are a large number of basins of marginal seas, deep ocean trenches (Tonga, Kermadec, Bougainville), which form a geosynclinal belt characterized by active volcanism, seismicity and contrasting relief.

There are no minerals on most of the islands of Oceania, only the largest of them are being developed: nickel (New Caledonia), oil and gas (New Guinea, New Zealand), copper (Bougainville Island in Papua New Guinea), gold (New Guinea , Fiji), phosphates (on most of the islands, the deposits are almost or have already been developed, for example, in Nauru, on the islands of Banaba, Makatea). In the past, many of the region's islands were heavily mined for guano, the decomposed dung of seabirds, which was used as a nitrogen and phosphate 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.

Oceania is located within several climatic zones: equatorial, subequatorial, tropical, subtropical, temperate. Most of the islands have a tropical climate. The subequatorial climate dominates on islands near Australia and Asia, as well as east of the 180th meridian in the equator zone, equatorial - west of the 180th meridian, subtropical - north and south of the tropics, temperate - in most of the South Island in New Zealand.

The climate of the islands of Oceania is determined mainly by the trade winds, so most of them experience heavy rainfall. The average annual rainfall varies from 1500 to 4000 mm, although on some islands (due to topographical features and on the lee side in particular) the climate can be drier or wetter. One of the wettest places on the planet is located in Oceania: on the eastern slope of Mount Waialeale on the island of Kauai, up to 11,430 mm of precipitation falls annually (the absolute maximum was reached in 1982: then 16,916 mm fell). Near the tropics, the average temperature is around 23°C, near the equator - 27°C, with little difference between the hottest and coldest months.

The climate of the islands of Oceania is also greatly influenced by such anomalies as the El Niño and La Niña currents. During El Niño, the intertropical convergence zone moves northward towards the equator; during La Niña, it moves southward away from the equator. In the latter case, a severe drought is observed on the islands, in the first case, 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.

The South Island in New Zealand and the island of New Guinea have glaciers high in the mountains, but due to the process of global warming, their area is gradually shrinking.

Due to the different climatic conditions, the soils of Oceania 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 few organic and mineral substances, with the exception of calcium, sodium and magnesium. The soils of volcanic islands, as a rule, are of volcanic origin and are highly fertile. On large mountainous islands, red-yellow, mountain lateritic, mountain-meadow, yellow-brown soils, yellow soils, and red soils are found.

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 the largest rivers of Oceania, the Sepik (1126 km) and Fly (1050 km), are located. The largest river in New Zealand is the Waikato (425 km). The rivers are predominantly fed by rain, although in New Zealand and New Guinea, rivers are also fed by water from melting glaciers and snow. On the atolls, there are no rivers at all due to the high porosity of the soils. Instead, rainwater seeps through the soil to form a lens of slightly brackish water that can be reached by digging a well. On larger islands (usually of volcanic origin) there are small streams of water that flow towards the ocean.

The largest number of lakes, including thermal ones, is located in New Zealand, where there are also geysers. On other islands of Oceania, lakes are a rarity.

Oceania is included in the Paleotropical region of vegetation, while three sub-regions are distinguished: Melanesian-Micronesian, Hawaiian and New Zealand. Among the most widespread plants of Oceania, the coconut palm and breadfruit stand out, which play an important role in the life of local residents: the fruits are used for food, wood is a source of heat, a building material, copra is produced from the oily endosperm of coconut palm nuts, which is the basis of the export of countries of this region. A large number of epiphytes (ferns, orchids) also grow on the islands. The largest number of endemics (both representatives of flora and fauna) was registered in New Zealand and the Hawaiian Islands, while from west to east there is a decrease in the number of species, genera and families of plants.

The fauna of Oceania belongs to the Polynesian faunistic region with a subregion of the Hawaiian Islands. The fauna of New Zealand stands out in an independent region, New Guinea - in 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 small rat. But the local avifauna is very rich. Most of the atolls have bird markets where seabirds nest. Of the representatives of the fauna of New Zealand, the most famous are the kiwi birds, which have become the national symbol of the country. Other endemics of the country are kea (lat. Nestor notabilis, or nestor), kakapo (lat. Strigops habroptilus, or owl parrot), takahe (lat. Notoronis hochstelteri, or wingless sultan). All the islands of Oceania are inhabited by a large number of lizards, snakes and insects.

During the European colonization of the islands, alien species of plants and animals were introduced to many of them, which negatively affected the local flora and fauna.

The region has a large number of protected areas, many of which occupy large areas. For example, the Phoenix Islands in the Republic of Kiribati have been the world's largest marine reserve since January 28, 2008 (the area is 410,500 km²).

The indigenous inhabitants of Oceania are Polynesians, Micronesians, Melanesians and Papuans.

Polynesians living in the countries of Polynesia are of a mixed racial type: in their appearance, features of the Caucasoid and Mongoloid races are visible, and to a lesser extent - Australoid. The largest peoples of Polynesia are Hawaiians, Samoans, Tahitians, Tongans, Maori, Marquesans, Rapanui and others. Native languages belong to the Polynesian subgroup of the Austronesian family of languages: Hawaiian, Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan, Maori, Marquesan, Rapanui and others. The characteristic features of the Polynesian languages are a small number of sounds, especially consonants, and an abundance of vowels.

Micronesians live in the countries of Micronesia. The largest peoples are Carolinians, Kiribati, Marshallese, Nauru, Chamorro and others. Native languages belong to the Micronesian group of the Austronesian family of languages: Kiribati, Caroline, Kusaie, Marshallese, Nauruan and others. The Palauan and Chamorro languages belong to the Western Malayo-Polynesian languages, while Jap forms a separate branch within the Oceanic languages, which includes the Micronesian languages.

Melanesians live in the countries of Melanesia. The racial type is Australoid, with a small Mongoloid element, close to the Papuans of New Guinea. Melanesians speak Melanesian languages, but their languages, unlike Micronesian and Polynesian, do not form a separate genetic group, and the linguistic fragmentation is very large, so that people from neighboring villages may not understand each other.

The Papuans inhabit the island of New Guinea and parts of Indonesia. In anthropological type, they are close to the Melanesians, but differ from them in language. Not all Papuan languages are related to each other. The national language of the Papuans in Papua New Guinea is the English-based Tok Pisin Creole. According to various sources of peoples and languages, the Papuans number from 300 to 800. At the same time, there are difficulties in establishing the difference between a separate language and a dialect.

Many languages of Oceania are on the verge of extinction. In everyday life, they are increasingly being replaced by English and French.

The position of the indigenous population in the countries of Oceania is different. If, for example, in the Hawaiian Islands their share is very low, then in New Zealand the Maori make up to 15% of the country's population. The proportion of Polynesians in the Northern Mariana Islands, located in Micronesia, is about 21.3%. In Papua New Guinea, the majority of the population is made up of numerous Papuan peoples, although there is also a high proportion of people from other islands in the region.

In New Zealand and the Hawaiian Islands, the majority of the population is European, the share of which is also high in New Caledonia (34%) and French Polynesia (12%). In the Fiji Islands, 38.2% of the population is represented by Indo-Fijians, descendants of Indian contract workers brought to the islands by the British in the 19th century.

Recently, in the countries of Oceania, the proportion of immigrants from Asia (mainly Chinese and Filipinos) has been increasing. For example, in the Northern Mariana Islands, the share of Filipinos is 26.2%, and the Chinese - 22.1%.

The population of Oceania is mainly Christian, adhering to either the Protestant or Catholic branches.

The island of New Guinea and the nearby islands of Melanesia were supposedly settled by people from Southeast Asia who sailed by canoe about 30-50 thousand years ago. About 2-4 thousand years ago, most of Micronesia and Polynesia were settled. The process of colonization ended around 1200 AD. By the beginning of the 16th century, the peoples of Oceania were going through a period of decomposition of the primitive communal system and the formation of an early class society. Crafts, agriculture, and navigation were actively developing.

In the period from the 16th to the 18th centuries, the period of exploration of Oceania by Europeans continued, which gradually began to populate the islands. However, the process of European colonization was very slow, since the region did not arouse much interest among foreigners due to the lack of natural resources, and negatively affected the local population: many diseases were introduced that had never been in Oceania, and this led to epidemics, in which resulted in the death of a significant part of the natives. At the same time, there was a Christianization of the inhabitants, who worshiped numerous deities and spirits.

In the XVIII-XIX centuries, the islands of Oceania were divided between the colonial powers, primarily the British Empire, Spain and France (later they were joined by the USA and the German Empire). Of particular interest to Europeans was the possibility of creating plantations on the islands (coconut palm for the production of copra, sugar cane), as well as the slave trade (the so-called "blackbird hunting", which involved recruiting islanders to work on plantations).

In 1907, New Zealand became a dominion, but it did not formally become a fully independent state until 1947. After the First World War, the first political organizations began to emerge ("May" in Western Samoa, "Fiji Youth" in Fiji), which fought for the independence of the colonies. During the Second World War, Oceania was one of the theaters of war, where many battles took place (mainly between Japanese and American troops).

After the war, there were some improvements in the economy in the region, but in most colonies it was one-sided (the predominance of the plantation economy and the almost complete absence of industry). Since the 1960s, the process of decolonization began: in 1962, Western Samoa gained independence, in 1963 - West Irian, in 1968 - Nauru. Subsequently, most of the colonies became independent.

After gaining independence, most countries in Oceania still have serious economic, political and social problems, which they are trying to solve with the help of the world community (including the UN) and through regional cooperation. Despite the process of decolonization in the 20th century, some islands of the region still remain dependent to some extent: New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna from France, the Pitcairn Islands from Great Britain, the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau from New Zealand, a number islands (all outer small islands except Navassa Island) from the USA.

Most countries in Oceania have a very weak economy, which is due to several reasons: limited natural resources, remoteness from world markets for products, and a shortage of highly qualified specialists. Many states depend on financial assistance from other countries.

The basis of the economy of most countries in Oceania is agriculture (the production of copra and palm oil) and fishing. Among the most important agricultural crops stand out the coconut palm, bananas, breadfruit. Possessing huge exclusive economic zones and not having a large fishing fleet, the governments of the countries of Oceania issue licenses for the right to catch fish to vessels of other states (mainly Japan, Taiwan, the USA), which significantly replenishes the state budget. The mining industry is most developed in Papua New Guinea, Nauru, New Caledonia, and New Zealand.

A significant part of the population is employed in the public sector. Recently, measures have been taken to develop the tourism sector of the economy.

The art of Oceania has developed a distinctive style that gives uniqueness to the local culture.

In the visual arts of the Polynesians, the main place belongs to woodcarving and sculpture. Maori carving reached a high level, they decorated boats, details of houses, carved statues of gods and ancestors, such a statue stands in every village. The main motif of the ornament is a spiral. Moai stone statues were created on Easter Island and the Marquesas Islands. Of the crafts, the most important was the construction of boats, as they allowed fishing and traveling long distances (in this regard, astronomy developed among the Polynesians). Among the Polynesians, tattooing has become widespread. Tapa, which was made from the bark of mulberry trees, served as clothing. In Polynesia, myths, legends, fairy tales, singing and dancing were developed. Writing, probably, was only on Easter Island (rongo-rongo), on other islands folklore was transmitted orally.

Singing and dancing are popular art forms among Micronesians. Each tribe has its own myths. In the life of the islanders, the main place was occupied by ships - boats. There were boats of different types: dibenil - sailing, valab - a large rowing boat. Megaliths are found on the Yap Islands. Of particular interest is Nan Madol, known as the "Micronesian Venice". This is a whole city on the water, in a lagoon on the island of Ponape. Stone structures are built on artificial islands.

Among the Melanesians, wood carving reached a special flowering. Unlike the Polynesians, the Melanesians were not so tied to the sea, they were more land dwellers. The main musical instrument is the drum, or tam-tom. Folklore, songs, dances, myths are widespread among the Papuans. The songs and dances are very simple. The singing is called mun, the melody varies very little. The cult of ancestors and skulls is of great importance. Papuans make korvara - images of ancestors. Well developed wood carving.

Physiographic countries of Oceania

Regional landscape differences make it possible to single out four physiographic countries in Oceania: Melanesia, Micronesia, New Zealand and Polynesia.

Melanesia

Melanesia includes New Guinea, the Bismarck, Louisaids, Solomon Islands, Santa Cruz, New Hebrides, New Caledonia, Fiji and a number of small islands. The islands of Melonesia lie in the alpine geosynclinal zone and were created by the mountain-building processes of the Neogene and the beginning of the Quaternary. They are composed of crystalline intrusions and folded sedimentary deposits. The complex of crystalline rocks contains ore minerals: nickel, gold, iron ores, chromites. Oil-bearing basins are confined to sedimentary suites.

Volcanic activity continues to this day. There are frequent and strong earthquakes.

The relief of the islands is predominantly mountainous. The islands received their modern outlines in the Quaternary period, earlier they were connected with each other, with Australia, with the Malay Archipelago by land bridges, along which the migration of flora and fauna took place. In this regard, the flora and fauna include many Australo-Malayan species.

Mountains rise to 2000 m and higher in New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and the Bismarck archipelago, which are combined under the name of North Melanesia. The climate here is constantly hot and very humid, most of the islands are covered with evergreen wet forests.

The climate of South Melanesia is hot, seasonally humid, hylaean forests cover only the windward slopes of the mountains, and savannahs appear on dry, leeward slopes.

The largest island of Melanesia and Oceania is New Guinea with an area of 829,300 km2. This island is located entirely in equatorial latitudes. The flora of the island is rich in species and includes 6872 plant species, of which 85% are endemic. The Sredinny Ridge stretches across the entire island, the height of which rises to the west to Jaya Peak (5029 m). A huge amount of moisture condenses on its slopes, brought in the winter by the southeast trade winds, and in the summer by the northwest monsoon. On the high peaks of the mountains, precipitation falls in solid form. The snow line lies at an altitude of 4420 m. There are small glaciers on the tops of the mountains.

Below the eternal snows and stony placers there are tall-grass meadows with rhododendron bushes, even lower - a belt of mountain hyla, which at an altitude of 900 m are replaced by wilds of typical hyla.

To the south of the Sredinny Ridge lies a wide lowland, at the base of which lies a crystalline basement overlain by marine and alluvial deposits.

The lowland receives up to 4000-5000 mm of precipitation, but its southern regions are very dry. A characteristic type of vegetation is savannas with bunches of hard grasses and Australian tree species - banksias, eucalyptus and acacias.

There are many reed bogs in the floodplains of the Fly and Digul rivers. Mangrove forests grow in estuaries and along low-lying banks.

New Zealand

New Zealand consists of two large islands - North and South - and a number of smaller ones. It occupies the southernmost position in Oceania. The islands of New Zealand stretch from southwest to northeast and follow a major fault line that continues along the Kermadec and Tonga Deep Sea Basins.

New Zealand structures began to form in the Upper Paleozoic. The most important mountain-building movements took place in the Mesozoic era and in the Paleogene, after which a period of tectonic quiescence and peneplenization began. In the Pliocene, new folding and differential vertical movements took place, which fragmented the ancient land and determined the modern outlines of the coast.

The development of the organic world took place mainly without replenishment from outside. The flora of the islands consists of 74% endemic plants and is relatively poor in species. There are tree ferns (cyathea, dixonia), conifers, myrtle, etc. The fauna of New Zealand is also characterized by high endemism and deep antiquity. Local mammals are represented by two species of bats and one species of rats. There are flightless (kiwi, owl parrot) and flying (nestor parrot) birds. The only representative of the most ancient reptiles (primary lizards) has survived - the tuatara.

The nature of the North and South Islands is diverse.

The South Island (area 150 thousand km2) has a mountainous relief. The Southern Alps stretch along the western half of the island. Their height reaches 3764 m. They have up to 50 glaciers with a total area of about 1000 km2. From the south, the Otago Plateau (1200-1800 m) adjoins the mountains. Large lakes lie in southwestern Otago. Along the western slopes of the Southern Alps is a narrow coastal lowland, the eastern slopes are adjacent to the coastal plains of Canterbury.

Almost the entire South Island lies in the zone of a moderately warm, very humid climate. The average winter temperature is 5-7°C. Sometimes it drops below 0°C. Western winds prevail. In summer, the western circulation remains in a weakened form. The temperature is 14° in the south and 17°C in the north. Precipitation falls in both winter and summer, but the maximum is in summer. In the lowlands, the annual amount of precipitation is 2500 mm, on the slopes of the mountains - 3500 mm. The eastern slopes receive only 700 mm per year.

The rivers are full-flowing with a uniform flow and are fed by snow, glaciers and rain. They bloom widely in spring and summer.

The western slopes of the mountains are covered with dense mixed forests, in which evergreen trees (laurel and coniferous) penetrate far to the south. Above 600 m and up to 1000 m there is a belt of evergreen beech forests. Above it is a belt of low-growing hard-leaved shrubs and mountain meadows. The eastern slopes are covered with thickets of evergreen shrubs and beech forests.

The North Island (area 115 thousand km2) is separated from the South Island by a graben in the Cook Strait. The relief is dominated by medium-altitude plateaus, and lowlands are widely developed along the edges. The Ruahine Ridge stretches along the east coast. The central part of the island is occupied by a volcanic plateau, above which volcanic cones rise. Among them are active: Ruapehu - the highest in New Zealand, Taravera. There are many lakes on the plateau, often thermal ones. The largest of them is Lake Taupo.

The climate of the North Island is subtropical, warm temperate, with very wet winters. There is less rainfall in summer. The vegetation is represented by mixed subtropical forests, richer in species composition than on the South Island. The lava plateaus are dominated by thickets of evergreen shrubs, forests appear only on weathered lavas.

micronesia

Micronesia includes about 1,500 islands: the Kazan, Mariana, Caroline, Marshall, Gilbert and Nauru archipelagos. All islands are small; the largest of them, Guam, has an area of 583 km2.

The western archipelagos are located in the belt of geosynclinal structures of the Pacific Ocean floor and are the peaks of volcanoes. The relief of the islands is mountainous (altitude from 400 to 1000 m). The islands of eastern Micronesia are coral. They rarely rise above the water by more than 1.5 - 2.5 m. Many of them have the shape of typical atolls.

The islands lie in latitudes from equatorial to subtropical. The climate of the northern islands is as hot and humid as that of the southern ones. The greatest amount of precipitation (1500-2000 mm) falls on the eastern slopes of the mountainous islands windward with respect to the northeast trade winds. Previously, the slopes were covered with dense moist evergreen tropical forests, but these forests have now been greatly reduced in area. The leeward slopes of the islands are occupied by cereal savannahs. Inland lagoons are lined with mangroves.

Polynesia

Polynesia unites the islands lying in general to the east of the 180th meridian, between 30 ° N. sh. and 30°S sh .: Hawaiian, Phoenix and Tokelau archipelagos, Samoa, Cook Islands, Tubuau, Tahiti, Tuamotu, etc. The islands are the tops of basalt volcanoes, mostly decapitated by weathering and abrasion, covered by reef limestones. There are also coral islands - a product of the ocean, stony corals and calcareous algae.

The name "Polynesia", meaning many islands, was first used by Charles de Brosses in 1756, and was originally applied to all the islands of the Pacific. Jules Dumont D'Urville, in an 1831 lecture to the Geographical Society of Paris, proposed a restriction on its use, and also coined the terms Micronesia and Melanesia. This division into three distinct Pacific sub-regions is still used today.

Geographically, Polynesia can be described as a triangle with corners at Hawaii, Aoteaora (New Zealand) and Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Other major island groups located within the Polynesian triangle are Samoa, Tonga, the various island chains that form the Cook Islands and French Polynesia. Niue is a rare secluded island nation near the center of Polynesia. Island groups outside this large triangle include Tuvalu and the French territory of Wallis and Futuna. There are also small enclaves of isolated Polynesians in Papua New Guinea, the Solomons and in Vanuatu. However, in general, it is an anthropological term applied to one of the three parts of Oceania (others called Micronesia and Melanesia), whose populations generally belong to the same ethnocultural family as a result of centuries of maritime migration.

Polynesia is divided into two distinct cultural groups, Eastern Polynesian and Western Polynesia. The culture of Western Polynesia is due to the large population. It has strong marriage institutions, and well-developed judicial, monetary, and commercial traditions. It includes groups of Tonga, Niue, Samoa Islands and Polynesian outlying areas. Eastern Polynesian cultures are highly adapted to the smaller islands and atolls, including the Cook Islands, Tahiti, Tuamotus, Marquesah, Hawaii, and Easter Island. However, the large islands of New Zealand were first settled by Eastern Polynesians who adapted their culture to the non-tropical environment. Religion, agriculture, fishing, weather forecasting, canoes (similar to modern catamarans) building and navigation were highly developed skills because the population of the entire island depended on them. Trade was divided into two types: luxury and household items. Many small islands could suffer a severe famine if their gardens were poisoned with salt from a hurricane's storm surge. In such cases, fishing, the primary source of protein, would not attenuate the loss of food energy. Sailors, in particular, were highly respected, and each island maintained a home of navigation, with a canoe development area. The settlements of the Polynesians had two categories, villages and towns. The size of the inhabited island determined whether or not a village would be built. Large volcanic islands usually had villages divided into many zones across the island. Food and resources were more abundant and so these settlements of four to five houses (usually with gardens) were set up so that there was no overlap between zones. Villages, on the other hand, were built on the coasts of smaller islands and consisted of thirty or more buildings. Usually these villages were fortified with walls and palisades made of stone and wood. However, New Zealand demonstrates the opposite; large volcanic islands with fortified villages. Due to the relatively large number of competitive Christian missionary sects in the islands, many Polynesian groups have converted to Christianity. Polynesian languages are all members of the Oceanic language family, a subset of the Austronesian language family.

The organic world is represented by reef-loving plants and animals not only on land, but also on the sea. Algae, foraminifera, sponges, sea urchins and starfish, crabs and shrimps settle along the outer edge of the atoll. Behind the outer graben of the atoll, on powerful carbonate soils, land vegetation appears: thickets of evergreen xerophytic shrubs, forests of coconut palms, pandanus, banana thickets and breadfruit groves.

The largest archipelago of Polynesia is the Hawaiian Islands, stretching for 2500 km. The Hawaiian archipelago consists of 24 islands with a total area of 16,700 km2. The largest islands are Hawaii, Maui, Oahu and Kauai. Volcanic activity continues only on the island of Hawaii; on other large islands, it ceased at the beginning of the Quaternary.

Most of the islands are stretched in the tropical climate zone, under the continuous influence of the northeast trade winds. The amount of precipitation on the windward slopes exceeds 4000 mm, on the leeward slopes - no more than 700 mm per year. Characterized by high air temperatures. The northwestern islands of the archipelago lie in the subtropical zone. They are further away from the cold California current, so they have higher mean seasonal temperatures. Precipitation is cyclonic, maximum in winter. The amount of annual precipitation is about 1000 mm.

The flora of Hawaii is highly endemic (up to 93% of species) and monotonous, therefore it is distinguished in a special Hawaiian subregion of the Paleotropics. It contains gymnosperms, ficuses, epiphytic orchids. Palm trees are represented by three types. The mountains are characterized by seasonally wet mixed forests up to a height of 700 m), constantly wet evergreen forests (up to 1200 m), and tropical mountain hylaea (up to 3000 m). Savannahs do not climb slopes higher than 300-600 m.

The avifauna (67 genera) is very richly represented on the islands. More than half are sedentary and nest on the islands. In addition to birds, there is one species of bat, several species of lizards, and beetles.

The current state of nature and its protection

The landscapes of the islands are extremely vulnerable to human activities. Great harm is caused by accidental or deliberate introduction of alien organisms - plants or animals - to the islands.

Deteriorates the state of the natural environment and irrational use of land, cutting down valuable tree species, pollution of coastal waters and direct destruction of the island land.

The nature of biogenic islands is the most vulnerable. The vulnerability of their flora and fauna, as well as the small volume of fresh water and surface land, create great difficulties for the conservation of the natural environment.

With a rapidly growing population, maintaining the necessary sanitary standards on the islands becomes a difficult task, especially since it is not easy to find a suitable place to dispose of waste and sewage.

Great devastation is caused by the mining of phosphorites on some islands. As a result, people form deserts, the restoration of which is practically inaccessible to the young states of Oceania.

Tourists - lovers of spearfishing and collectors of living souvenirs - cause great harm to the nature of the islands. Already now, many states have adopted laws prohibiting the breaking of corals, the collection of shells, the extraction of pearls, as well as the hunting of birds and animals.

Island groups

The following are islands and island groups, or nations or sub-national territories, that have a native Polynesian culture. Some islands of Polynesian origin are outside the general triangle that geographically defines the area.

American Samoa Islands (Overseas Territory of the United States)

Anuta (in the Solomon Islands)

Cook Islands (self-governing state in association with New Zealand)

Easter Island (part of Chile, named Rapa Nui in Rapa Nui)

Emai (in Vanuatu)

French Polynesia (“foreign country”, territory of France)

Hawaii (state of the United States)

Kapingamarangi (in the United States of Micronesia)

Mele (in Vanuatu)

New Zealand (named Aotearova in Māori, commonly associated with Australasia)

Niue (self-governing state in free association with New Zealand)

Nigeria (in Papua New Guinea)

Nukumanu (in Papua New Guinea)

Nikuoro (in the United States of Micronesia)

Ontong Java (in the Solomon Islands)

Pileni (in the Solomon Islands)

Rennell (in the Solomon Islands)

Rotuma (in Fiji)

Samoa Islands (independent nation)

Sicaina (in the Solomon Islands)

Country Boys Island (politically part of American Samoa)

Takuu (in Papua New Guinea)

Tikopia (in the Solomon Islands)

Tokelau (New Zealand overseas dependency)

Tonga (independent nation)

Tuvalu (independent nation)

Wallis and Futuna (French overseas territory).

Sources

Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia, WikiPedia

oceaniasport.info - Oceania

stranymira.com – Countries

polynesia.ru – Polynesia

deposits of phosphorites. In the past, many of the region's islands were heavily mined for guano, the decomposed dung of seabirds, which was used as a nitrogen and phosphate 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.

5. Climate

The South Island in New Zealand and the island of New Guinea have glaciers high in the mountains, but due to the process of global warming, their area is gradually shrinking.

6. Soils and hydrology

Soils are very diverse due to different conditions of soil formation. On the large mountainous islands of western Oceania, in a hot and humid climate, under moist evergreen forests, red-yellow lateritic soils are developed, higher along the slopes - mountain lateritic, zheltozems and krasnozems and yellow-brown; on the highest peaks - mountain-meadow. In central and eastern Oceania, lateritic soils are found only on large islands composed of weathered lavas. On fresh ashes and young lavas - andosols, dark-colored and fertile. Deforestation, plowing and natural disasters cause severe erosion. The soils of the atolls are thin, carbonate, often saline.

Rivers and lakes are found mainly on large mountainous islands in the western part of Oceania, composed of sedimentary and crystalline rocks. There are very few or no rivers and lakes on the volcanic and coral islands and in eastern Oceania, where atmospheric moisture seeps into porous basalts and limestones. The rivers are mainly fed by rain, only some mountain rivers of New Guinea and New Zealand have additional snow and glacier feeding. The maximum runoff occurs at the end of summer (with glacial feeding during the summer). The maximum winter runoff is on the short rivers of New Zealand (South Island). Almost all large rivers begin high in the mountains, where they flow in deep valleys, have rapids channels, and have large reserves of hydropower. On the coastal lowlands, they sharply slow down the current, are navigable, and have marshy valleys. The mouths of small rivers are blocked by sand bars and mangroves. The largest rivers in Oceania are the Fly and the Digul in New Guinea.

On coral and small volcanic islands, there are lenses of fresh water overlying salt water near the coast. The largest lakes in Oceania are volcanic or glacial, smaller ones are oxbow lakes in wide valleys in the lowlands. There are many thermal and salt lakes in areas of active volcanism. Most of the lakes are in New Zealand (there are many geysers on the North Island).

The largest number of lakes, including thermal ones, is located in New Zealand, where there are also geysers. On other islands of Oceania, lakes are a rarity.

7. Flora and fauna

The position in a vast expanse of water, the small size of the land and the remoteness from the continents and each other had a significant impact on the nature of the islands and the life of the peoples of Oceania.

Oceania is part of the Paleotropical vegetation region. There are 3 subregions: Malesian, Hawaiian, New Zealand. The Malesian is characterized by numerous tropical families (pandanus, palms, ficus, laurel, water lilies, bananas, and also widespread legumes). A lot of epiphytes (ferns, orchids). In the Hawaiian there are no gymnosperms, ficuses, there is only one genus of palm trees (pritchardia), few orchids, but many ferns - the first plants that settle in the cracks of the cooled lava flows. In the New Zealand subregion, there are numerous species of Compositae, ferns, sedges, and grasses.

Among the most widespread plants of Oceania, the coconut palm and breadfruit stand out, which play an important role in the life of local residents: the fruits are used for food, wood is a source of heat, a building material, copra is produced from the oily endosperm of coconut palm nuts, which is the basis of the export of countries of this region. A large number of epiphytes (ferns, orchids) also grow on the islands. The largest number of endemics (both representatives of flora and fauna) was registered in New Zealand and the Hawaiian Islands, while from west to east there is a decrease in the number of species, genera and families of plants.

On high mountainous islands on damp windward slopes up to a height of 300-600 m, xerophilic hard-leaved forests, thickets of shrubs, and savannas are common; up to 1000-1800 m in a more humid, but still hot climate - humid evergreen forests. Up to 3000 m in a cool and very humid climate - "forests of the fog belt" with less tall trees, an abundance of mosses, lichens, ferns. The tops of the highest islands have alpine vegetation (cushion grasses, undersized shrubs and shrubs). On the leeward, drier slopes below, there are deserted savannas and semi-deserts with xerophilous prickly, often cushion-like grasses, small-leaved shrubs, and low trees; higher - xerophilous hard-leaved forests, shrubs, savannahs. With a height of about 1500 m, a narrow belt of evergreen forests appears. On the coral islands, the vegetation is especially poor in species.

Large areas are occupied by plantation crops, pastures (New Zealand); forest area has been greatly reduced. The introduced animals caused great damage to the vegetation.

The fauna of Oceania belongs to the Polynesian faunistic region with a subregion of the Hawaiian Islands. The fauna of New Zealand stands out in an independent region, New Guinea - in 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 of the atolls have bird markets where seabirds nest. Of the representatives of the fauna of New Zealand, the most famous are the kiwi birds, which have become the national symbol of the country. Other endemics of the country are kea (lat. Nestor notabilis, or nestor), kakapo (lat. Strigops habroptilus, or owl parrot), takahe (lat. Notoronis hochstelteri, or wingless sultan). All the islands of Oceania are inhabited by a large number of lizards, snakes and insects.

During the European colonization of the islands, alien species of plants and animals were introduced to many of them, which negatively affected the local flora and fauna.

Over time, the fauna and animal population of the islands change significantly. The study of the dynamics of island faunas is of great practical interest. The replenishment of the island biota depends, as already noted, on the area of the island and the distance from it to the mainland or another source of settlement.

The larger the area of the island, the more species it lives on. This is due to the fact that large islands have more diverse habitats suitable for colonization by different species.

The peculiarity of island faunas is that they are often the last refuges of archaic animal species.

8. Man in Oceania

Man appeared in Oceania many thousands of years ago. How the settlement of the islands took place is not yet clear. The population is 10 million people. The indigenous inhabitants of New Guinea belong to the equatorial race (Papuans). The indigenous population of other islands belongs to a special Polynesian group. In New Zealand, the majority of the population are descendants of immigrants from Europe.

Groups of islands and archipelagos of the western and central parts are united in a geographical area under the general name of Oceania. Historically, the division of all the islands into four ethnographic and geographical regions: (the islands of Tonga, Samoa, Cook, Hawaiian, Easter Island, etc.), Melanesia (about., Bismarck Archipelago, islands, etc.), (, Mariana Islands, etc.), New. Most of the islands of Oceania are concentrated between 10 ° S. sh. and 20° N. sh.

A great contribution to the study of the nature and population of Oceania was made by the Russian scientist N. N. Miklukho-Maclay. He studied the life of the peoples of the island of New Guinea, left descriptions of the nature of coastal areas. The scientific research of N. N. Miklukho-Maclay was connected with his conviction of the need to protect the backward and oppressed peoples. At the very end of the XIX century. N. K. Sudzilovsky, our countryman, a native of the Mogilev province, lived and worked in the Hawaiian Islands.

Geological structure and relief of Oceania

Remember how the mainland, volcanic and coral islands were formed. The largest mainland islands in Oceania are New Guinea and New Zealand. Volcanism is a characteristic process of this region. The Hawaiian Islands are home to the Kilauea Volcano, one of the most active active volcanoes on Earth. Volcanic islands form giant island arcs. They have an elongated configuration. Oceania is replete with coral islands - reefs and atolls, which form entire archipelagos (Gilbert Islands, Tuamotu).

Climate of Oceania

The islands of Oceania are located mainly in the equatorial, subequatorial and. Only the northern part of the Hawaiian archipelago enters the subtropics, and the southern part of New Zealand is located in the temperate zone. There are two climatic regions in Oceania: trade winds and monsoons. The climate of Oceania is characterized by small temperature fluctuations: from +30 °С during the day to +21 °С at night. Winds from the ocean moderate the heat. It is never too cold or too hot here, so the climate of Oceania is considered the most comfortable on the globe. The main direction is from east to west. They contribute to the settlement of organisms.

Oceania is dominated by maritime air masses. In areas where monsoon circulation prevails, precipitation is 3000-4000 mm per year. In the Hawaiian Islands, on the windward slopes, more than 12,090 mm of precipitation falls annually. This is one of the wettest places on earth. The distribution of precipitation is associated with the presence of mountains. There are patches on the island of Hawaii where less than 200mm of rain falls annually.

Tropical hurricanes are among the most dangerous and destructive natural phenomena. They destroy plantations, destroy dwellings, and sometimes the resulting waves wash away all life. The local population is wary of settling on the Cook Islands and Tuamotu, where hurricanes are often observed. The subtropical and temperate climate is typical for New Zealand, where in winter there are frosts down to -13 ° C, and snow lies in the mountains.

Flora and fauna of Oceania

The isolation of the island land was most strongly reflected in its and. The diversity of the world of plants and animals depends on the age of the islands, their size and distance from the mainland. It is poorest of all on coral islands, where fresh water is scarce and soils are poor. Only a few dozen species of plants grow on them. On the islands of Oceania, mainly in Melanesia, the oldest plants, such as tree ferns, reaching 8-15 m in height, have been preserved. The flora of New Zealand is rich and original (pines, palms).

The flora and fauna of Oceania is distinguished by two features. Rare species that are not found on the mainland have been preserved here. At the same time, on many islands, entire groups of organisms common to the mainland are almost completely absent. Many types of flowering plants that are found on land are absent here, but spore plants are widespread. Ancient plants that grew on the mainland in the geological past (podocarpus, agathis (kauri), etc.) have been preserved on the islands.

The fauna of the islands is poor. There are no mammals on many islands, with the exception of rats, mice, goats and cats brought here. There are many seabirds: petrels, albatrosses, gulls that nest here and breed chicks. On the island of New Guinea, there is a weed chicken, a representative of the Australian fauna.

In New Zealand, the oldest flightless kiwi bird, very cautious, living in dense grasses, the Maori shepherd, has been preserved. The kiwi bird is featured on the coat of arms of New Zealand. In New and New Zealand, rare species of parrots are found - kakapo, or owl, and kea parrot with a strong sharp and curved beak. The first turret lizard has been preserved on one of the islands of New Zealand.

Only 5-7 species of seabirds nest on some islands. At the same time, the number of bird species in New Guinea is more than 100, and the fauna of insects is rich (more than 3,700 species).

Minerals of Oceania

Mineral resources on the islands of Oceania are distributed extremely unevenly. The economy is carried out where there are valuable minerals. So, in New Caledonia there are up to 25% of the world's nickel reserves, on Christmas Island there are reserves of phosphates. Among the states of Oceania, Papua New Guinea stands out, where there is gold, silver, and explored reserves.

Economic activity of Oceania

The population of Oceania is about 10 million people. There are several hypotheses about the ways of settling Oceania. Most scientists believe that Oceania was inhabited by people from Southeast Asia many millennia ago. According to Thor Heyerdahl's hypothesis, immigrants from America settled.

The inhabitants of Oceania were skilled sailors and shipbuilders. They sailed thousands of kilometers from their native islands. Modern inhabitants of Oceania are engaged in growing coconut palms, bananas, cocoa, coffee. The traditional trade is fishing. The nature and life of the people of Oceania are largely subject to natural catastrophic disasters (tropical hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanism).

On many islands of volcanic and continental origin, non-ferrous metal ores, coal are mined, and phosphorite deposits are developed. Every year the states of Oceania become objects of international tourism. The nature of the islands is changing under the influence of human activities. Plantations have been planted on the site of the destroyed natural plantations, where sugar cane, pineapples, bananas, tea, coffee, rubber and other crops are cultivated.

Political map of Oceania

The modern political map of Oceania was formed as a result of the long struggle of the colonial powers for the division of the oceanic archipelagos among themselves. Until the beginning of the 60s. 20th century in Oceania there was one independent state - New Zealand. By the end of the twentieth century. more than 10 independent states were formed in Oceania. A number of islands and archipelagos remain politically and economically dependent on the world. Most of the archipelago of the Hawaiian Islands has been the 50th state of the United States since 1959.

The formation of the nature of Oceania is influenced by the Pacific Ocean, its remoteness from other continents, and its location in tropical latitudes. The basis of the economy of most countries in Oceania is agriculture. Mining is being done on many of the islands.