Oceania

geographical region
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Leaders hike active volcano to celebrate new pact between Australia and Vanuatu Aug. 14, 2025, 8:43 AM ET (ABC News (Australia))

Oceania, collective name for the islands found throughout most of the Pacific Ocean. The term, in its widest sense, embraces the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas. A more common definition excludes the Ryukyu, Kuril, and Aleutian islands and the Japan archipelago. The most popular usage delimits Oceania further by excluding Indonesia, Taiwan, and the Philippines, because the peoples and cultures of those islands are more closely related historically to the Asian mainland. Oceania, in its most restricted meaning, consists of more than 10,000 islands, with a total land area (excluding Australia but including Papua New Guinea and ...(100 of 217 words)