Melanesia (UK: / ˌ m ɛ l ə ˈ n iː z i ə / ⓘ, US: / ˌ m ɛ l ə ˈ n iː ʒ ə /) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from New Guinea in the west to the Fiji Islands in the east, [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] and includes the Arafura Sea .

He derived the name Melanesia from Greek μέλας, black, and νῆσος, island, to mean "islands of black people". Bory de Saint-Vincent had distinguished Mélaniens from the indigenous Australians .

Dec 11, 2020 · Melanesia’s 2,000 islands have a combined geographical land area of around 386,000 square miles (1 million square km). Vegetation in the region consists of forested areas and jungles. Melanesia has a humid, tropical climate year-round.

6 days ago · Melanesian culture, the beliefs and practices of the indigenous peoples of the ethnogeographic group of Pacific Islands known as Melanesia. From northwest to southeast, the islands form an arc that begins with New Guinea (the western half of which is called Papua and is part of Indonesia, and the

Melanesia (from Greek, meaning "black islands") is a region extending from the western side of the eastern Pacific to the Arafura Sea, north and northeast of Australia. It consists of 2,000 islands with a total land area of about 386,000 square miles (one million square kilometers), and is home to about 12 million people.

Dec 3, 2023 · Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia are sub-regions of the Pacific Islands. Each region has its own distinct culture, geography, history, and indigenous peoples. Polynesia includes islands such as Hawaii, Easter Island, and New Zealand. Melanesia encompasses islands like Papua New Guinea and Fiji.

To the north and east of Australia lie the islands known as Melanesia. These islands form one of the most culturally complex regions of the entire world, with 1,293 languages spoken across the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and the island of New Guinea (politically divided into Indonesia’s West Papua Province and the nation of Papua ...

May 23, 2024 · Melanesia is a large cluster of islands in the Pacific Ocean located to the north and northeast of the continent of Australia. The name was first used by Jules Dumont d'Urville in 1832 to describe a group of islands with distinct geographical and cultural commonalities that set them apart from the other Pacific island supergroups, Micronesia ...

Melanesia is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, with unique species found from the world’s largest and highest tropical island, through one of the most biologically rich oceanic archipelagos on Earth, to isolated oceanic islands with outstanding proportions of unique species.

As much of Melanesia is unspoiled and untouched, natural sights are the biggest tourist attractions. From the reefs, lagoons and mountains of New Caledonia to the beaches in Fiji and Norfolk, much of the natural scenery is a unique sight in their own right.