Portal:Islands

Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is located approximately 350 kilometres (190 nautical miles) south of Java and Sumatra and about 1,550 km (840 nmi) north-west of the closest point on the Australian mainland. With an area of 135 square kilometres (52 sq mi), Christmas Island's geographic isolation and history of minimal human disturbance has led to a high level of endemism among its flora and fauna, which is of interest to scientists and naturalists. The territory derives its name from its discovery on Christmas Day 1643 by Captain William Mynors.

The first European to sight Christmas Island was Richard Rowe of the Thomas in 1615. Captain William Mynors named it on Christmas Day, 25 December 1643. It was first settled in the late 19th century, after abundant phosphate deposits were found, originally deposited as guano, leading Britain to annex the island in 1888, and begin commercial mining in 1899. Christmas Island was invaded by the Japanese in 1942 to secure its phosphate deposits, and transferred from Singapore to Australia, where it remains, in 1958. (Full article...)

A pavlova, a popular dessert in Australia and New Zealand

The cuisine of New Zealand is largely driven by local ingredients and seasonal variations. As an island nation with a primarily agricultural economy, New Zealand yields produce from land and sea. Similar to the cuisine of Australia, the cuisine of New Zealand is a diverse British-based cuisine, with Mediterranean and Pacific Rim influences as the country has become more cosmopolitan.

Historical influences came from British cuisine and Māori culture. Since the 1970s, new cuisines such as New American cuisine, Southeast Asian, East Asian, and South Asian have become popular. (Full article...)

• ... that a pond of liquid sulfur was discovered at the summit crater of the Daikoku Seamount in 2006 in the Northern Mariana Islands?
• ... that a Japanese island has rapidly fluctuated in size?
• ... that the wirebird on the flag of Saint Helena is the last species of bird that is endemic to the island?
• ... that during the late 1700s, Cheshire Hall Plantation was the largest house and estate on Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands?
• ... that Carl-Gustav Groth was the first surgeon in Sweden to perform pancreas, liver, and islet cell transplants?
• ... that Micronations: The Lonely Planet Guide to Home-Made Nations features the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands, the Kingdom of Lovely, and the Grand Duchy of Westarctica?