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The umbrella term Pacific Islands has taken on several meanings. [1] Sometimes it is used to refer only to the islands defined as lying within Oceania. [2] [3] [4] At other times, it is used to refer to the islands of the Pacific Ocean that were previously colonized by the British, French, Spaniards, Portuguese, Dutch, or Japanese, or by the United States.
Vanuatu (English: / ˌ v ɑː n u ˈ ɑː t uː / ⓘ VAH-noo-AH-too or / v æ n ˈ w ɑː t uː / van-WAH-too; Bislama and French pronunciation), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (French: République de Vanuatu; Bislama: Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean.
The word desert has been "formerly applied more widely to any wild, uninhabited region, including forest-land", and it is this archaic meaning that appears in the phrase "desert island". [3] The term "desert island" is also commonly used figuratively to refer to objects or behavior in conditions of social isolation and limited material means ...
Palau, [a] officially the Republic of Palau, [b] [8] is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean.The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands, while the eastern and central parts make up the Federated States of Micronesia.
Nauru, [c] officially the Republic of Nauru [d], formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Micronesia, part of the Oceania region in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba of Kiribati about 300 kilometres (190 mi) to the east.
Indonesia is the world's largest island country by area (1,904,569 km 2), and by total number of islands (17,504 islands). [4] It is also the world's most populous island country, with a population of over 270 million (the fourth most populous country in the world, after India, China, and the United States).
New Zealand (Māori: Aotearoa) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) and the South Island (Te Waipounamu)—and over 600 smaller islands.
There is a transform fault that currently traverses New Zealand's South Island, known as the Alpine Fault. Zealandia's continental shelf has a total area of approximately 3,600,000 km 2 (1,400,000 sq mi). The oldest rocks in Polynesia are found in New Zealand and are believed to be about 510 million years old.