Oceania- Islands of the Pacific

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Oceania- Islands of the Pacific

• Section 3

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Geographic Regions

• Ocean is made up of over 10,000 islands
• Three Regions Melanesia, Micronesia, and
  Polynesia
• Melanesia Greek for black islands, home of
  New Guinea and Fiji which are the most populous
  islands
• Micronesia means tiny islands, the home of
  Guam and obviously derives its name from the size
  of the islands in the region
• Polynesia mean many islands, home of Hawaii,
  New Zealand, Easter Island, and Tahiti

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Landforms

• Two types of Islands High and Low Islands
• High islands are made from volcanoes and
  experience more rainfall and have fertile soil
• Low islands lie above coral reefs and reside
  mainly in Micronesia, due to their infertile soil
  people mainly fish
• Major volcanic islands New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa,
  and Hawaii

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Climate and Resources

• Tropical and rainfall varies across the region
• Copra Coconut meat is a major export
• Sugar, bananas, and pineapples are usually grown
• Sometimes the islands suffer from typhoons and
  tropical storms

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Differing Traditions

• A complex region with different culture,
  religion, and language
• Theravada Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism, Islam,
  Hindu, Roman Catholic, Protestantism, and Animism
• Animism the worship of spirits in nature,
  especially in Bali where they worship a volcano
  considered the cradle of life
• European Imperialism caused forced migration and
  labor plantations exporting copra, coconut oil,
  and sandalwood

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Regional and Global Concerns

• Nuclear testing
• Global warming
• Depletion of resources
• Ravaged by World War II between America and Japan
• Mining has led to depletion of resources
• South Pacific Forum 16-nation association for
  the protection of Oceania
• Opposes nuclear tests and the use of Japanese/
  Korean fishing nets in the environment

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HW

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