Melanesia Melanesia The Republic of the Fiji Islands, or Fiji, is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Vanuatu, west of Tonga and south of Tuvalu. The country occupies an archipelago of about 322 islands, of which 106 are permanently inhabited; in addition, there are some 522 islets. The two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for some 87 percent of the total population. The name Fiji is the old Tongan word for the islands, which is in turn derived from the Fijian name Viti. ...more on Wikipedia about "Fiji"
Melanesia (from Greek: μέλας black, νῆσος island) is a region extending from the western side of East Pacific to the Arafura Sea, north and north-east of Australia. The term was first used by Jules Dumont d'Urville in 1832 to denote an ethnic and geographical grouping of islands distinct from Polynesia and Micronesia. Today d'Urville's racial classification is known to be inaccurate because it obscures Melanesia's cultural, linguistic, and genetic diversity. Most importantly, this term combines two quite distinct groups, the Austronesians and the Papuans (who themselves can be considered as comprising a number of distinct groups). ...more on Wikipedia about "Melanesia"
New Caledonia ( French: Nouvelle-Calédonie; popular names: Kanaky, Le caillou) is a French dependancy made up of a main island (Grande-Terre de la Nouvelle-Calédonie) and several smaller islands. It is located in the region of Melanesia in the southwest Pacific. It has a land area of 18,575.5 km² (7,172 sq. miles). The population at the 2004 census was 230,789 inhabitants. It has an Internet country code top-level domain ( ccTLD) of .nc. The capital and largest city of the territory is Nouméa. The currency is the CFP franc. ...more on Wikipedia about "New Caledonia"
New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the world's second largest island having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded around 5000 BC. The name papua has also been long-associated with the island: this is discussed further under History, below. ...more on Wikipedia about "New Guinea"
Pileni is a culturally important island in the Reef Islands, in the northern part of the Solomon Islands province of Temotu. Despite its location in the heart of Melanesia, the population of the islands is Polynesian. The name of the island, Pileni, has also been given to the Samoic-Outlier language spoken there and on the surrounding islands, as well as in the Duff Islands, some 200 miles to the east. ...more on Wikipedia about "Pileni"
The Santa Cruz Islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of the nation of the Solomon Islands. They lie approximately 250 miles (400 km) to the southeast of the Solomon Islands Chain. The Santa Cruz Islands lie just north of the archipelago of Vanuatu, and are considered part of the Vanuatu rain forests ecoregion. ...more on Wikipedia about "Santa Cruz Islands"
Solomon Islands is a nation in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea and is part of the Commonwealth of Nations. It consists of more than 990 islands, which together cover a land mass of 28,000 square kilometres. ...more on Wikipedia about "Solomon Islands"
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The Republic of Vanuatu is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago is located some 1,750 km east of Australia, 500 km north-east of New Caledonia, west of Fiji and south of the Solomon Islands. ...more on Wikipedia about "Vanuatu"
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