- Largest in total area of all the Geographic Realms but smallest in land area of any of the Realms
- Strongly affected by the UN Law of the Sea for protection over economic assets
- A Highly Fragmented Realm
- Comprised of High-Island and Low-Island cultures
- Strong
- Struggle to maintain cultural continuity in the face of globalization in
- Total land area is about 376,000 square miles (
- Colonized by the French, British, and
- Total population of about 9.2 million
- Economy focused on Tourism with some minerals and fishing
- Mix of political organizations
- Independent States
- Colonies
- Dependencies
- Administrative Units
- NAVIGATING BY STAR PATHS:
- On east-west courses navigators steered towards stars known to rise or set over their destination. Steering was adjusted to compensate for the leeway (side-ways drift) caused by the wind and current, the angle estimated form experience. To maintain this angle they guided on stars dead ahead, replacing them with others in the same path as the guiding stars rose to high to be useful or set below the horizon.
- NAVIGATING BY ZENITH STARS:
- Zenith stars for an island are those which seem to pass directly overhead. Such stars also appear to pass directly overhead on the same latitude at any position east or west of the that island. On north-south courses, a navigator who kept upwind of his destination until its zenith star was overhead could then turn downwind to make a landfall, The range of visual sighting could be broadened by taking wide tacks downwind. Höküle'a (Arcturus) is a zenith star for Hawai'i Island. A'a (Sirus) is a zenith star for Tahiti and
- NAVIGATING BY LANDMARKS:
- Departing at sunset, navigators set their course to a known destination by alignment with landmarks. The drift of the vessel form that alignment might indicate the direction and strength of the current, later, he may pick up his bearing from a familiar star.
- NAVIGATING BY
- Signs of unseen land expand low or obscured island targets by 25 or 30 miles. In island groups these extensions often overlap, forming broad targets. To find an island within a group, voyagers could aim for the approximate center of the group, then change course to specific destination after sighting a familiar island. Sailing from Ra'iatea to Rarotonga, navigators sighting any known landfall in the Cook Islands chain could then sail to a position for an accurate course to
- NAVIGATING BY OCEAN SWELL:
- Prevailing winds or storms generate swells which pulse across the ocean for thousands of miles. Under overcast skies navigators could maintain their heading by keeping a constant ration between the amount of pitching or rolling induced by a dominant swell, holding direction until guiding stars became visible again.
- NAVIGATING BY SEA COLOR AND THE SIGHTING OF FLOTSAM:
- Sea color: A color change from the deep blue of the open sea to green may betray a familiar reef, enabling navigators to check their position.
- Flotsam: Drifting wood or leaves betray land to windward, and drifting seaweed may indicate an upcurrent reef. A greenish tinge to the underside of a cloud reflects sunlight from a distant lagoon too far away to be seen.
- NAVIGATING BY SWELL PATERNS:
- A dominant swell bounces back form an island and bends around it, creating swell patterns which can be read to find an unseen landfall.
- (A) main swell;
- (B) reflected swell;
- (C) refracted swell;
- (D) shadow of turbulence.
- NAVIGATING BY SIGHTING FISHING BIRDS AND CUMULUS CLOUDS:
- Fishing birds heading out to sea at dawn or returning at dusk point the direction to their home island. Cumulus clouds generated by warm updrafts may rise high above an island, appearing stationary while fragments of the main cloud and scattered cumulus clouds drift away in the wind.
- Countries separated by less than 24 miles of ocean have less than 12 mile territorial waters and must rely on Median Lines
- Countries within 400 nautical miles have overlapping EEZ’s
- Political changes on land prompt modifications to maritime boundaries
- Natural resources fuel boundary disputes
- Variations in extent of continental shelf
- West
- Kiribati, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Samoa, American Samoa, Tuvalu, Tonga, Eastern Polynesia
- Most populous region
- Nearly 6 million people
- 820 indigenous languages
- 57% literacy rate
- Religion
- 34% Native Faiths
- Remainder Christian
- More than 1,000 islands
- Population of approximately 500,000
- Almost 95% Melanesian
- More than 120 languages
- Still under French Rule until after 2014
- Slow devolution of power to local government
- Just over 200,000 people
- 42.3% Melanesian
- 37% White European
- 60% Catholic
- 30% Protestant
- 2 Large and over 100 smaller islands
- Population of over 900,000
- 54.8% Fijian
- 37.4% Indian
- 53% Christian
- 34% Hindu
- 7% Muslim
- Civilian Governments alternate with military coups
- Large military force
- Includes more than 2,000 islands
- More low-lying islands than in
- Largely a U.S. Trust area until the mid-1980’s
- Guam is
- Population of over 170,000
- 85% Roman Catholic
- Economy focused on tourism
- Site of 66 nuclear weapons tests by the
- Still dealing with compensation claims for damages from tests
- Population about 62,000
- 98% Christian
- 55% Protestant
- Northern Mariana Islands are a commonwealth in “Political Union” with the
- Became a formal territory of the
- Population of about 85,000
- 56.3% Asian
- 36.3% Pacific Islander
- Multi-Lingual region
- Mainly Christian
- Economy based around off-shore
- Gained independence in 1968 – World’s smallest independent republic
- Strong ties to
- Major ecological damage due to Phosphate mining (90% of the island)
- Population around 13,500
- 58% Nauran
- Christian
- Includes both high volcanic islands and low coral atolls
- 50th
- First settled by Polynesians between 300 and 1000 C.E.
- Discovered by James Cooke in 1778
- Overthrow of the monarchy in 1896
- Population of just under 1.4 million
- 80% of the population lives on
- Economy based around tourism and a plantation system
- Full Independent in 1970
- A British Protectorate
- Constitutional Monarchy
- Population of about 117,000
- Independent in 1978 (from
- Population
- Mix of many of the South Pacific ethnic groups
- Developing along the
- Economy focused on Tourism (
- Population of almost 280,000
- 78% Polynesian
- 10% European – French
- 12% Chinese
- French colony
- Site of French nuclear testing
- Volcanic
- High-elevation/Rugged Relief
- Well Watered
- Good Soils
- Agricultural Diversity
- Tend to have larger populations
- The majority of the realm’s islands
- Composed of coral
- Low-elevation/Relief
- Drought is common (dependence on rain water)
- Fishing and Coconut palm are mainstays of the economy
- Ice-Covered continent
- 5.5 million square miles
- Few outposts of humanity
- McMurdo Station
- Multiple claims – claims are not “explicitly” recognized by any state
- The Antarctic Treaty (1961) (http://www.ats.aq/uploaded/treaty_original.pdf)
- Regulate international relations on the continent
- Established freedom of scientific investigation
- Banned military activity on that continent
· Article 1 - area to be used for peaceful purposes only; military activity, such as weapons testing, is prohibited, but military personnel and equipment may be used for scientific research or any other peaceful purpose;
· Article 2 - freedom of scientific investigation and cooperation shall continue;
· Article 3 - free exchange of information and personnel in cooperation with the United Nations and other international agencies;
· Article 4 - does not recognize, dispute, or establish territorial sovereignty claims and no new claims shall be asserted while the treaty is in force;
· Article 5 - prohibits nuclear explosions or disposal of radioactive wastes;
· Article 6 - includes under the treaty all land and ice shelves south of 60 degrees 00 minutes south;
· Article 7 - treaty-state observers have free access, including aerial observation, to any area and may inspect all stations, installations, and equipment; advance notice of all activities and of the introduction of military personnel must be given;
· Article 8 - allows for jurisdiction over observers and scientists by their own states;
· Article 9 - frequent consultative meetings take place among member nations;
· Article 10 - treaty states will discourage activities by any country in
· Article 11 - disputes to be settled peacefully by the parties concerned or, ultimately, by the International Court of Justice;
· Articles 12, 13, 14 - deal with upholding, interpreting, and amending the treaty among involved nations.
