1. The Pacific World

2. Australia & New Zealand

3. Physical Geography
 Truly Unique Places
 Physical features, variety of climates, unusual wildlife, &
plentiful resources

4. Physical Features
 Differ Widely
 Australia
 Wide, flat stretches of dry land
 Surrounded by water
 3 million square miles (considered a continent, not just an
island)
 Huge plateau covers western half
 Home to Uluru or Ayers Rock
 Low mts., valleys, & a major river system cover eastern half
 Fertile plains along the coast
 Great Barrier Reef off NE coast

5.  New Zealand
 Green hills & tall mountains
 1,000 miles SE of Australia
 2 main islands
 North Island:
 covered by hills & coastal plains
 Volcanoes, geysers, & hot springs
 South Island
 Large mt. range (Southern Alps
 Thick forests, deep lakes, & glaciers
 Fertile hills & rich plains
 Fjord

6. Climate
 Australia
 Desert & steppe climates
 Temps are warm & rain limited
 More temperate along the coasts
 New Zealand
 Marine climate
 Plentiful rainfall & mild temps

7. Wildlife & Resources
 Home to unique animals
 Kangaroo, koala, & kiwi
 Australia’s Resources
 World’s top producer of bauxite, lead, diamonds, &
opals
 Energy resources: coal, natural gas, & oil
 Poor soil, but grow/raise: wheat, cotton, & sheep
 New Zealand
 Fertile land & few mineral resources
 Main resources: wool, timber, & gold

8. History
 Similar history
 Both settled by settler from the Pacific
 Early Settlers
 Aborigines
 1st humans in Australia
 Came from Southeast Asia 40,000 years ago
 Hunted animals & gathered food from wild plants
 Had many different languages, traditions, & customs
 Maori
 Came 1,200 years ago to New Zealand
 Were fishers & hunters
 Also used farming to survive

9. The Arrival of Europeans
 European explorers 1st sighted countries in 1600s
 British
 1769 James Cook explored New Zealand & the following year
Australia
 British settled in Australia 20 years later
 1st were prisoners
 Other settlers came and built farms & ranches & took over
Aborigines’ lands
 Many died of disease
 British arrived in New Zealand in 1800s.
 Signed a treaty with Maori in 1840
 Became part of British Empire
 Tensions led to a series of wars over the land

10. Independence
 Early 1900s independence granted to Australia & New
Zealand
 Today both are members of the British
Commonwealth of Nations
 Also close allies of the U.K.
 Helped British & allies during WWI & WWII

11. Australia & New Zealand Today
 Both are rich and well-developed despite their isolation
 Government
 British style gov’t influence
 British monarch is head of state in both countries
 Both have parliamentary democracies
 Citizens elect members to represent them in parliament
 Both have prime minister
 Prime minister & Parliament runs the gov’t
 Both have similar features of U.S. gov’t
 Federal system (central power shares power w/ states)
 Parliament consists of two houses (House of Reps & Senate)
 Bill of Rights protects individual rights of New Zealand’s citizens

12. Economy
 Rich, economically developed country
 Agriculture is very important
 Leading producer of wool
 Both export meat & Dairy products
 Mining is also important
 Bauxite, gold, & uranium in the Outback
 Industries
 steel, heavy machines, & computers
 Banking, insurance, & tourism

13. People
 Diverse populations
 Most are of British ancestry
 Many groups from around the world have migrated to both
countries in recent years
 Native groups make up small % of populations
 Challenge
 Improving economic & political status of Aborigines & Maori
 Most live in urban areas
 90% of Australians live in large cities along the coasts
 10 % in the Outback
 In New Zealand most people live on North Island

14. The Pacific Islands

15. Pacific Islands
 3 Regions:
 Melanesia
 Micronesia
 Polynesia
 Regions have high & low islands

16.  High islands
 2 types:
 Oceanic = formed by volcanoes rising from the sea floor
 Tahiti & Hawaii
 Continental = formed from continental rock; lie on Australia’s
continental shelf
 New Guinea: world’s second largest island; Mt. range stretches
across the central part (highest peak reaches 16,535 feet);
western part is called Irian Jaya & is part of Indonesia; Papua
New Guinea occupies eastern half of island
 Low Islands
 Most made of coral
 Barely rise above sea level
 Many are atolls

17. Climate & Resources
 All but 2 island countries lie in the tropics
 Most have humid tropical climate
 Temps are warm & rainfall is common all year
 Some islands have tropical savanna climate (rain falls mostly in
summer)
 Cool highland climate also found
 Mts. of New Guinea
 Resources vary widely
 Low Islands have few resources
 Little freshwater & thin soil limit farming
 Smaller populations
 Coconut palms & the sea are important sources of food
 High Islands have freshwater, good soils, & forest resources
 Farms produce crops such as coffee, cocoa, bananas, & sugarcane
 New Guinea has copper, gold, silver, & oil
 Mining difficult due to rugged highlands & dense tropical forests

18. History & Culture
 One of last places settle by humans
 Because of isolation they have unique history &
culture

19. Early History
 People began to settle Pacific Islands 35,000 years ago
 Melanesia was first to be settled
 1500s
 Europeans encountered Pacific Islands
 James Cook explored all the main Pacific Island regions
 1800s
 Spain, U.K., & France controlled most of the Pacific
Islands

20. Modern History
 1900s
 Other countries entered the Pacific Islands
 U.S. defeated Spain in Spanish-American War & Guam became a
U.S. territory (an area that is under the authority of another gov’t)
 Japan expanded empire into Pacific Ocean
 During WWII Pacific Islands were place of battles between Allied
& Japanese forces
 U.N. placed some islands under its control at the end of WWII
 Many islands became independent in the late 1900s
 U.S., France, & New Zealand still have territories in Pacific
Islands

21. Culture
 Variety of cultures exist
 Some traits are common throughout the Pacific
Islands
 Fishing
 People
 9 million live in Pacific Islands today
 Most are descendents of original settlers
 Also includes large #’s of Asians (Indians & Chinese) &
Europeans
 Asians were brought to work on colonial plantations

22.  Before Europeans Pacific Island people practiced
hundreds of different religions
 Today most are Christians
 Traditions
 Many continue to practice traditional customs
 Construct homes of bamboo & palm leaves
 Live in ancient villages, practice ancient art styles, & hold
ceremonies w/ traditional costumes & dances

23. The Pacific Islands Today
 Healthy tourism industry
 Sunny beaches
 Important challenges
 Developing economies
 Fishing, tourism, & agriculture are key
 Some export minerals & timber
 Regions’ isolation hinders ability to trade
 Environment
 Islands were used for nuclear testing from 1940s to 1990s
 People fear health problems for people of region
 Global warming concerns islanders
 Rising temps may cause ocean levels to rise

24. Antarctica

25. The Land of Antarctica’s 5.4 million square miles
 Ice covers 98%
 90% of world’s ice; sheets are more than 1 mile thick
 Ice sheets flow slowly off the continent & form an ice
shelf when they reach the coast; icebergs often break
away and drift into the ocean
 Ross Ice Shelf is the size of France
 One recent iceberg the size of Luxembourg
 Antarctic Peninsula
 Temps often warmer than other parts of the continent

26. Climate & Resources
 Mostly freezing ice-cap climate
 Temp below -120 degrees F w/ little precipitation
 Polar desert: high latitude region that receives little
precipitation
 Less precipitation than Sahara Desert
 Planet’s coldest, driest, highest, & windiest continent
 remains totally dark in winter
 In summer the sun never sets
 Temps can drop as low as -120 degrees F
 Tundra plant life survives in ice free areas
 A few insects are the land’s only land animals
 Penguins, seals, & whales live in the icy waters

27. Resources
 Iron ore, gold, copper, & coal
 Debate over whether resources should be mined
 Mining would harm continent’s environment
 Worthwhile for businesses

28. Early Explorers
 1775 James Cook sighted icebergs around Antarctica
 1800s explorers investigated Antarctica
 Motive was to discover South Pole
 Norwegian explorers were 1st human expedition to reach South Pole
in 1911
 Parts of Antarctica have been claimed by countries
 U.S., Australia, & China
 Antarctic Treaty of 1959
 agreement reached to preserve Antarctica for science & peace
 Prevented claims to the continent & banned military activity &
made whole continent a research area

29. Antarctica Today
 Only continent without permanent human population
 Researchers only people who live in Antarctica
 Live in bases or stations
 Research covers wide range of topics
 Plant and animal life of Antarctica, weather conditions,
Earth’s ozone layer

30. Air Pollution
 Studies show that carbon dioxide levels in the air have
risen over time
 Discovered by studying gases trapped in old Antarctic
ice & compared them to gases in the Earth’s atmosphere
today
 Some believe this is causing global warming
 Some scientists are looking for evidence that air
pollution is damaging Earth’s ozone layer

31. Environmental Threats
 Tourists & researchers have left behind trash & oil
spills have occurred
 Oil spills have damaged surrounding seas
 In 1991 an international agreement was reached
forbidding most activities in Antarctica that do not
have a scientific purpose
 Bans mining & drilling & limits tourism