The countries of Oceania and Australia differ in culture, mentality of the population and climate. The tourism sector is actively developing in them, which allows attracting more funds for the development of the economy. Oceania is the largest island country on the planet.
Australia and Oceania - a part of the world, consisting of the mainland, islands. The total area of the territory is 8, 51 million square meters. km. By dividing the entire land mass, Oceania is united with Australia. In English-speaking countries, this part of the world is called Oceania.
History
About 40 thousand years ago, people from Indochina came to these lands. In those days, there was a passage from the archipelagos between the two continents. It disappeared about 10 thousand years ago due to strong earthquakes. Because of this, the inhabitants of Australia were separated from the rest of the world.
Australia was discovered in 1606 by the Dutch Willem Janssson. In the 18th century, it was rediscovered by the navigator James Cook, around the same time New Zealand became a colony of England. Later, the latter began to send criminals to the mainland as punishment. They had to engage in agriculture, livestock breeding.
Oceania, inhabited by the Papuans, was discovered by Europeans in the 16th century, and the Mariana Islands in 1521 during Fernando Magellan's circumnavigation of the world. Until the 18th century, the period of the study of Oceania lasted. This was the impetus for the settlement of the islands. The process of European colonization was very slow, since the lands did not arouse much interest due to the lack of a large amount of natural resources.
The development of new territories had a bad effect on the local population. A huge number of diseases were brought in. As a result of epidemics, a significant part of people died.
Geography and climate
Most of the territory is located on the old Australian Plate, which was part of the mainland of Gondwana. Most of the land is made up of plains, only 5% of the surface is elevated from 600 m above sea level. The largest coral reef is located along the coast, with a length of 2 km. The highest point is Mount Kostsyushko.
Australia is located in the Southern and Eastern Hemispheres. The Southern Tropic crosses it in the middle. The mainland shores are weakly indented. Oceania includes a group of islands and archipelagos in the western and central Pacific Ocean.
Typhoons are typical for this part of the world. Earthquakes and tsunamis are common. Australia is considered the hottest part of the southern hemisphere landmass. It has a desert and semi-desert climate. Closer to the northern part, subequatorial predominates, to the central part - tropical, to the southwestern part - subtropical.
Average temperatures in January are 20-30 degrees, in July - 12-20 degrees. The climatic conditions of Oceania are determined by its position in the tropical zone. In any case, the continent is one of the driest. Therefore, deserts are a characteristic feature of nature.
Countries Australia and Oceania
Australia is a federal state included in the commonwealth under the rule of Great Britain. The Commonwealth of Australia unites six states:
- South Australia;
- Western Australia;
- N. S. W;
- Queensland;
- Victoria;
- Tasmania.
The capital is the city of Canberra. The official language is English, the majority of the population are Christians.
Oceania is the largest cluster of islands in the world. It includes more than 10 thousand islands. State borders run along the waters of the Pacific Ocean. All regions are divided into several types:
- sovereign (Nauru, Fiji, Palau);
- practically independent (New Zealand, Tonga, Popua New Guinea, Tuvalu);
- semi-colonies (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands);
- colonies (New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Eastern Samoa).
You can learn more about the borders on the geographical map of the world.
Population
Australia and Oceania are the most sparsely populated parts of the world. It is home to about 30 million people. It is a settlement area:
- Papuans;
- Micronesians;
- Polynesians;
- Melanesians.
The most numerous groups are formed by aborigines and immigrants. Most countries are characterized by: high fertility, low mortality and natural increase. Moreover, there are more men than women. In terms of population density, Oceania is almost four times that of Australia. However, the population is unevenly distributed, for example, there are quite a few uninhabited islands.
Most of the aborigines belong to a large Australoid race. Linguistically, the indigenous people are divided into two large groups: the Papuan peoples and those who speak the languages of the Austronesian family.
Interesting facts about Australia and Oceania
The economy in this part of the world is underdeveloped. This is due to the lack of minerals, the great distance from world markets and a short period of independent existence. The first point is related to the fact that most of the island are of volcanic or coral origin. Problems are also caused by the lack of normal transport links.
The countries of Oceania are focused on tourism, since the region has good recreational potential. A prime example is New Zealand, which actively promotes its image through feature films.
Oceania is one of the most dangerous regions in the world. This is due to the fact that most of the islands have active volcanoes. At the same time, Australia is the only continent where there is not a single active volcano. But 6 out of 10 most venomous snakes live here.
Australia has 3 times more sheep than people. The country ranks first in the production of wool, is a supplier to the world market of cereals, dairy products, meat and sugar. In Oceania, agricultural production is the main economy. Here the most favorable conditions for growing coconut trees. Volcanic soils are great for growing coffee, cocoa, vanilla, cotton.
Interesting Facts:
- More than 20% of the population of Australia and Oceania was born in other countries.
- Australia has the longest straight road in the world. Its length is 146 km. It is located in the Nullarbor Desert.
- Tasmania is believed to have the cleanest air in the world.
- There is a volcano in Oceania that has not faded since 1902.
- Heidway Island has the only post office in the world.
In conclusion, we note: the most difficult thing for people to live on the islands, some of them number no more than 100 people. It is rather difficult to survive in such conditions, therefore any one type of activity is a priority. An example would be Sharp Pitcairn. The entire population is engaged in the production of stamps, which allows the economy to develop and not stand in one place.
