Welcome to Australia

Welcome to the continent of Australia...wait, is that right?

Fun Fact: The first thing to learn about Australia. It is, technically speaking, not a continent.

Question: Why do we have a continent named "Australia" then?

Answer: Australia is often referred to as a continent. However, Australia (the country) is the main continental landmass of the continent Oceania.

If you were on Jeopardy and were asked to name all 7 continents, would you have said Oceania? If so, you are one of the knowledgeable few!

Question: What other countries or subregions make up Oceania?

Answer:

Map of Oceania and its subregions. Image from Wikimedia commons.

Subregions:

Australasia

Australia
New Zealand
Christmas Islands
Coco Islands
Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Norfolk Island

Melanesia

Fiji
New Caledonia
Papua New Guinea
Solomon Islands
Vanuatu

Micronesia

Guam
Kiribati
Marshall Islands
Micronesia
Nauru
North Mariana Islands
Palau
United States Minor Outlying Islands

Polynesia

American Samoa
Cook Islands
French Polynesia
Niue
Pitcairn
Samoa
Tokelau
Tonga
Tuvalu
Wallace and Futuna (French island territories)

Now that we know the continent Australia is more than...well, Australia, let's learn more about it below!