Micronesia

Micronesia (from Greek: μικρός, mikrós, "small" + Greek: νῆσος, 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.

Federated States of Micronesia

Coordinates: 6°55′N 158°15′E / 6.917°N 158.250°E / 6.917; 158.250

The Federated States of Micronesia (ⁱ/ˌmaɪkroʊˈniːʒə/; abbreviated FSM) is an independent sovereign island nation and a United States associated state consisting of four states – from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae – that are spread across the Western Pacific Ocean. Together, the states comprise around 607 islands (a combined land area of approximately 702 km² or 271 sq mi) that cover a longitudinal distance of almost 2,700 km (1,678 mi) just north of the equator. They lie northeast of New Guinea, south of Guam and the Marianas, west of Nauru and the Marshall Islands, east of Palau and the Philippines, about 2,900 km (1,802 mi) north of eastern Australia and some 4,000 km (2,485 mi) southwest of the main islands of Hawaii.

While the FSM's total land area is quite small, it occupies more than 2,600,000 km² (1,000,000 sq mi) of the Pacific Ocean, giving the country the 14th largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world. The capital is Palikir, located on Pohnpei Island, while the largest city is Weno, located in the Chuuk Atoll.