1. A Geographic Profile of
OCEANIA
Chapter 8

2. Introduction to the Region
 Oceania (The Pacific World)
 Region covers one-third of the earth’s surface
 Dominated by the world’s largest ocean, the Pacific
 Subregions
 Australia
 New Zealand
 Islands of the Mid-Pacific
 Antarctica is also covered in this chapter
 No permanent human inhabitants
 Site of important scientific research

4. 8.1.1 Major Divisions of the Region
 Pacific Island Regions
 Melanesia “Black Islands”
 Micronesia “Tiny Islands”
 Polynesia “Many Islands”
 Typical Traits for a Pacific Island Country
 Population of 100,000 to 150,000
 Area of 250 to 1,000 square miles
 Made up of a number of islands
 Poor economically
 Ex-colony of Britain, New Zealand, or Australia
 Heavily dependent on foreign economic aid

5. Principal Features of Oceania

6. Comparison of Area
Oceania vs. Conterminous U.S.

7. 8.1.2 The People and Where They Live
 Regional population is 37 million
 Australia has 23 million people
 Papua New Guinea has 7 million people
 Nauru only has 9,300 people
 Population Growth Rates Vary Widely
 Australia (0.7%) and New Zealand (0.8%)
 2.6% in Papua New Guinea
 Oceania is 76% rural, excluding Australia and N.Z.
 People Overpopulation in Polynesia
 Significant Emigration
 Postindustrial Fear in Australia / New Zealand
 Might not have enough people to support the
countries’ economies and aging populations

8. Population Distribution of Oceania

9. Population Cartogram of Oceania

10. Oceania’s Urbanized Areas
Population in Millions

11. 8.2 Physical Geography

12. 8.2.1 Climates and Biomes
 Most of the region is tropical
 Cool mid-latitude westerly winds bring New Zealand and
coastal southern Australia a marine west coast climate
 Coastal southern Australia has some Mediterranean
 Coastal northern Australia has tropical savanna
 Interior of Australia has desert climate and vegetation

13. Climates of Oceania

14. Biomes of Oceania

15. 8.2.2 Island Types
 Continental Islands
 Continents or were attached to continents before sea level
changes and tectonic activities isolated them
 Examples: Australia, New Guinea, New Britain, New Zealand
 High Islands
 Often the result of volcanic eruptions
 Examples: Hawaii, Samoa, Society Islands
 Low Islands
 Made of coral
 Most take the shape of an irregular ring surrounding a lagoon
(called an atoll)
 Lack resources to support dense populations
 Examples: Kiribati, Caroline and Marshall Islands

16. High Island
Moorea Island, Tahiti

17. Low Island

18. Land Use in Oceania

19. Geologic Hot Spot: Hawaii
Some of the volcanic high islands of the Pacific comprise
island chains. These are formed when the oceanic crust
slides over a stationary geologic hot spot in the earth’s
mantle where molten magma is relatively close to the crust.
As the crust slides over the geologic hot spot, magma rises
through the crust to form new volcanic islands.

20. Development of An Atoll

21. Wares From Coconut Trees

22. 8.2.3 Vulnerability of Oceania’s Ecosystems
 Factors Threatening Endemic Species
 Human-Induced Extinctions
 Habitat Destruction
 Deliberate Hunting
 Introduction of Exotic Species
 Volcanic Eruptions
 Typhoons (Hurricanes)
 Rises in Sea Level
 Hawaii as “Extinction Capital of the World”
 Commercial logging on island of New Guinea
 Home of 22,000 plant species, of which 90% are endemic

23. New Guinea’s Forests are Rich in Biodiversity

24. 8.3 Cultural and Historical Geographies
 Australia & New Zealand
 Mainly European in culture and ethnicity
 Fiji, New Caledonia & Guam
 Half Indigenous & Half Foreign
 Rest of Oceania’s Population
 80% Indigenous
 80% of these are Melanesian
 14% of these are Polynesian
 6% of these are Micronesian
 13% Asian
 7% European

25. 8.3.1 The Indigenous Peoples of Oceania
 Settlement began in Pacific region 50,000 years ago
 Settlers came across land bridge that linked New Guinea
and Australia (Torres Strait Islanders)
 Ancestors of today’s Aborigines
 Languages
 Linguistic Legacy
 Aboriginal, Austronesian, and Papuan
 Linguistic Complexity
 Papua New Guinea is home to 860 languages
 Vanuatu has 105 identified languages
 Lingua Franca
 English and French reflect colonial past
 Pidgin is official language of Papua New Guinea

26. Languages and Settlement Routes

27. 8.3.2 Europeans in Oceania
 First Europeans in region were voyagers
 European legacy
 Established trade
 Introduced Christianity
 Created new settlement patterns
 Disrupted old political systems
 Rearranged demographic and natural landscapes
 Introduction of exotic crops

29. 8.4 Economic Geography
 Aside from Australia and New Zealand, the region is
characterized by a lack of industrial development
 Poverty typical of LDCs prevails in the region
 Tyrannies of size and distance
 Most countries must import more than they can export

30. 8.4.1 Making a Living in Oceania
 7 Major Economic Enterprises
 Exports of Plantation Crops
 Exports of Fish
 Exports of Minerals
 Services for Western Military Interests
 Information Technology
 Textile Production
 Tourism

31. Nauru
The 10 square miles of land that is Nauru have been
devastated by phosphate mining that once made Nauruans
among the wealthiest people per capita on earth.

32. 8.5 Geopolitical Issues
 Oceania was once entirely colonial
 The U.S., Britain, Australia, and New Zealand have
abandoned most of their colonies
 Only France has held on to all of its colonies

33. 8.5.1 Interest of Foreign Powers in the Pacific
 Importance of islands to governing powers
 Military Advantages
 Economic Advantages
 French Polynesia used for French atomic testing
 Guam and American Samoa useful for U.S. military
purposes
 Guam as a power projection hub, as it is five days’
sailing time closer to Asia than Hawaii is
 Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement

34. 8.5.2 Oceania’s Environmental Future
 Rise in sea level due to global warming
 Sea levels have risen in recent years at a rate of 0.1” / yr
 Unprecedented tidal surges
 Kiribati, Marshall Islands, and Tuvalu could be completely
submerged, while other island nations would lose territory
 Alliance of Small Island States
 Politicked unsuccessfully at 1997 Kyoto Conference for
lowering of global greenhouse gas emissions to 20 percent
below their 1990 levels by 2005
 Took legal recourse against U.S. and Australia
for failing to ratify the Kyoto Protocol

35. 8.6.1 Australia and New Zealand
 Similar in population, cultural heritage, political problems and
orientation, type of economy, and location
 Products of British colonization and reflect British heritage
 Prosperous countries
 Relatively few people among whom to spread wealth
 Both owe their prosperity to wholesale transplantation of business
culture and technology from the UK
 Despite their independence, remain loyal to Britain
(Australia in 1901 and New Zealand in 1907)
 Belong to the British Commonwealth of Nations
 Political Orientation
 Since WWII, these two countries have sought closer relations with
the U.S., and British influence has waned
 Seeking stronger roles in the Pacific Basin’s economy
 Debate over whether Australians should convert the country into a
republic, ending formal ties with Britain

36. Australia and New Zealand

37. 8.6.2 Australia’s Aborigines
 Aborigines (Australia’s indigenous inhabitants)
 Believed their ancestors ‘sang’ the world into existence
 Population
 An estimated 300,000 to 1 million Aborigines inhabited Australia when
Europeans arrived in the 17th century
 Colonizing whites slaughtered many and drove the rest into marginal
areas of the continent
 Today, there are an estimated 510,000 Aborigines, living mainly in the
tropical north of the country
 Aborigines suffer from:
 High infant mortality rate
 High unemployment
 Low life expectancy
 Contention between Aborigines & white majority over land rights
 Aborigines increasingly enlisting aid of geographers and other social
scientists to document, measure & analyze traditional land claims

38. 8.6.3 Exotic Species on the Island Continent
 Exotic species are nonnative plants and animals
introduced into an ecosystem
 Impact is often catastrophic to native species
 Islands are very sensitive to ecological disruption
 Exotic species that have caused problems in Australia include:
 Rabbits
 Foxes
 Mice
 Water buffalo
 Cane toads
 Prickly pear cactus
 Sheep
 Cattle
 Dromedary camels
The Rabbit War Must Be
Won!

39. 8.6.4 Antarctica
 World’s 5th largest continent (ranks as the windiest and driest)
 Human drama in exploration, bravery, and foolhardiness
 Climate
 Summers include “whiteouts” caused by light refraction on snow and
ice covering about 95% of the continent
 Winters are mainly dark, with average temperatures the coldest in
the world
 The “Ozone Hole” is concentrated seasonally over Antarctica
 Important locale for scientific research
 Virtually no human settlement beyond research teams
 Public, economic, and geopolitical interests are increasing
 Several countries claim areas of the continent
 These claims put on hold since 1961 due to the Antarctic Treaty
 Forbids any exploitation of Antarctica’s natural resources until 2048

40. Antarctica: The Tip of the Iceberg