ABSTRACT
Oceania TheregionwehavecalledOceaniaoccupiesatotalland areaofnearly9millionsqkm/3.5sqmiles,equivalent toaround7%oftheworldtotal,but,asitsname implies,thetotalland-seacoverageisconsiderably greater.Itextendsfrom47degreessouth,atthefootof NewZealand,to21degreesnorth,atthetopofthe Philippines.Thesouthernpartenjoysacooltemperate climatewhilethecentralandnorthernareasaresubtropicalortropical.Aboveall,itisaregionofwaterand islands.Someoftheislandsaresmallanduninhabited, othersarelarge,andthebiggestofall,Australia,istwice thesizeofIndiaandlargeenoughtoberegardedasa continent.Thenumberofislandsdefiescomprehension-inthePhilippinesalone,forexample,thereare morethan7,000.
