Explore the World: The Geography of Australia and the Pacific Realm

Explore the World: The Geography of Australia and the Pacific Realm — page 1
Melanesia Micronesia Polynesia A JOURNEY TO THE PACIFIC The geography of this region is quite diverse The Pacific Imagine a region characterized by the huge Pacific Ocean yet also featuring deserts volcanos and forests It’s home to animals and plants that exist nowhere else on Earth from the koala bear to the duck billed platypus This unique region is Australia and the Pacific realm Islands are a main feature of the Pacific realm region They include the larger islands of New Zealand and New Guinea as well as thousands of smaller islands Three major groups of islands in this region are Melanesia Micronesia and Polynesia Australia is not part of the Pacific realm but it is often included in a term for the broader region Oceania Australia is an island a country and a continent The Pacific realm encompasses three major culture areas Polynesia Melanesia and Micronesia Australia lies to the southwest of the realm DIVERSE DIFFERENT OR VARIED 4