Micronesia

Micronesia, one of the three major ethnogeographic subdivisions (with Melanesia and Polynesia) of Oceania, encompassing the islands of the Pacific Ocean east of the Philippines and, for the most part, north of the equator. It comprises more than 2,000 islands with a total land area of about 2,730 sq km (1,055 sq mi), including the Northern Mariana Islands, the Palau Islands, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Guam, and the Federated States of Micronesia. Guam is the largest of the islands with an area of 559 sq km (212 sq mi); most of the others are small atolls. The name Micronesia derives from the Greek meaning “small islands”.

Western Micronesia, comprising Palau and the Mariana Islands, was first settled about 3,500 years ago, probably by peoples from Indonesia or the Philippines. Eastern Micronesia was settled at about the same time, possibly by people from eastern Melanesia. Blood type analysis has shown that, contrary to earlier beliefs, Micronesians are distinct from Australian, Asiatic, and Polynesian races. See Pacific Islands.