GEOG101: World Regional Geography

Melanesia, shown in Figure 10.3, includes Papua New Guinea, the largest country in the Pacific Islands. Papua New Guinea shares the island of New Guinea with Indonesia. All of the countries in Melanesia are independent except for New Caledonia, which is still under French control.

Melanesia is tectonically active like the insular countries of East and Southeast Asia. Active volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis are common in Melanesia. Figure 9.3 in Section 9.2 shows how close Melanesia and the other island groups are to the Pacific Ring of Fire.