Continents of the World The World North America Continents of the World Continents of the World The World North America GeoF-2a Continents of the World © Montessori Print Shop 2005 South America Europe Africa South America Europe Africa GeoF-2a Continents of the World © Montessori Print Shop 2005 Asia Australia Antarctica Asia Australia Antarctica GeoF-2a Continents of the World © Montessori Print Shop 2005 Oceania is a name used for varying groups of islands of the Pacific Ocean. In its narrow usage it refers to Polynesia (including New Zealand), Melanesia (including New Guinea) and Micronesia. In a wider usage it includes Australia. It may also include the Malay archipelago. Although the islands of Oceania do not form part of a true continent, Oceania is sometimes associated with the continent of Australia for the purposes of dividing the whole world into continental groupings. As such, it is the smallest "continent" in area and the second smallest, after Antarctica, in population. Oceania Australasia Australasia is the area that includes Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and the many smaller islands in the vicinity, most of which are the eastern part of Indonesia. The name was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes (1756). He derived it from the Latin for "south of Asia" and differentiated the area from Polynesia and the south east Pacific (Magellanica ). Australasia is sometimes used as a term for Australia and New Zealand alone, in the absence of another word limited to those two countries. Oceania Australasia Choose the term (Australia, Oceania, or Australasia) that suits your needs. GeoF-2a Continents of the World © Montessori Print Shop 2005.