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Micronesia (from , ''mikrós'', "small" + , ''nisos'', "island") is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a shared cultural history with two other island regions, Polynesia to the east and Melanesia to the south. The region has a tropical marine climate, and is part of the Oceania ecozone. There are four main archipelagos along with numerous outlying islands. Micronesia is divided politically among several sovereign countries. One of these is the Federated States of Micronesia, which is usually also called "Micronesia" for short and is not to be confused with the overall region. Aside from the Federated States of Micronesia, the Micronesia region encompasses four other sovereign, independent nations—Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, and Palau—as well as three U.S. territories—Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and Wake Island. Micronesia began to be settled several millennia ago, although there are competing theories about the origin and arrival of the first settlers. The earliest known contact with Europeans occurred in 1521, when Ferdinand Magellan reached the Marianas. The coinage of the term "Micronesia" is usually attributed to Jules Dumont d'Urville's usage in 1832, however Domeny de Rienzi had used the term a year previously. ==Geography== Micronesia is a region that includes approximately 2100 islands, with a total land area of , the largest of which is Guam, which covers . The total ocean area within the perimeter of the islands is . There are four main island groups; the Caroline Islands, the Gilbert Islands, the Mariana Islands, and the Marshall Islands. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Micronesia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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