Pacific Islands
The
Pacific Ocean has an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 islands; the exact number has not been precisely determined. These islands are also sometimes collectively called
Oceania (although Oceania usually also includes
Australia and
New Zealand), and are traditionally grouped into three: (1) Melanesia, (2) Micronesia, and (3) Polynesia. Inhabitants are sometimes referred to as
Pacific Islanders.
Melanesia means
black islands. These include
New Guinea (the largest Pacific island,which is divided into the nation of
Papua New Guinea and the
Indonesian province of
Irian Jaya),
New Caledonia,
Vanuatu,
Fiji, and the
Solomon IslandsMicronesia means
small islands. These include the
Marianas,
Guam,
Wake Island,
Palau, the
Marshall Islands,
Kiribati,
Nauru, and the
Federated States of Micronesia.
Polynesia means
many islands. These include
New Zealand, the
Hawaiian Islands, the
Midway Islands,
Samoa,
American Samoa,
Tonga,
Tuvalu, the
Cook Islands,
French Polynesia, and
Easter Island.
There are also many other islands located within the boundaries of the Pacific Ocean, but these are not considered part of
Oceania. These islands include the
Galápagos Islands of
Ecuador; the
Aleutian Islands in
Alaska; the
Russian islands of
Sakhalin and
Kuril Islands; the island nation of
Japan, which includes the
Ryukyu Islands;
Taiwan; the
Philippines; the
South China Sea Islands; and most of the islands of
Indonesia. However, it should be noted that the inhabitants of these islands are not considered to be
Pacific Islanders and are usually identified with their nearest continent.
*About 25,000 islands dot the Pacific Ocean.
*The region is divided into three areas; Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.
*The region's islands are also classified in two groups; high islands and low islands.
*Volcanoes form high islands.
*High islands support more people and have a more fertile soil.
*Low islands are reef or atolls.
*Low islands are built on coral reefs.
*Low islands are quite small.
*Melanesia is the most populated island region.
*Most of Melanesia's large islands are high islands.
*Most of the islands of Micronesia lie north of the equator.
*Polynesia is the largest island region in the Pacific Ocean.
*The Pacific Island region has few natural resources.
This is a list of many of the major Pacific Islands, organized by archipelago or political unit. In order to keep this list of moderate size, links are given to more complete lists for countries with large numbers of small or uninhabited islands. Note: many
Polynesian languages have a
glottal stop, which in most of them is seldomly written, however. If a name with a <
> cannot be found, try to rewrite it without it. See
'okina for more info.
*
List of islands*
List of islands in the United States*
List of islands in the Arctic Ocean*
List of islands in the Atlantic Ocean*
List of islands in the Caribbean*
List of islands in the Indian Ocean*
List of islands of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean*
List of islands of Australia*
List of islands of Asia*
List of islands of New Zealand*
List of islands of North America*
List of islands of South America*
List of islands in Tonga*
Pacific Islands Tourist Information - http://www.pacificislands.co.nz
