A World of Words: Pacific Islands - Introductory

You'll feel like you've traveled to the Pacific Islands when you dive into this word list! Learn about the archipelagos and atolls of the region as you explore volcanoes, coral reefs, and lagoons. You'll also review hazards like earthquakes and tsunamis and foods like taro, coconut, and poi.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. archipelago
    a group of many islands in a large body of water
  2. atoll
    an island consisting of a coral reef surrounding a lagoon
  3. breadfruit
    native to Pacific islands and having edible fruit with a texture like bread
  4. citizen
    a native or naturalized member of a state
  5. coconut
    large hard-shelled oval nut with a fibrous husk containing thick white meat surrounding a central cavity filled (when fresh) with fluid or milk
  6. colonialism
    exploitation by a stronger country of a weaker one
  7. colony
    a geographical area controlled by a distant country
  8. constitution
    law determining the fundamental principles of a government
  9. copra
    the dried meat of the coconut from which oil is extracted
  10. coral reef
    a reef consisting of coral consolidated into limestone
  11. democracy
    a political system in which power lies in a body of citizens
  12. earthquake
    vibration from underground movement along a fault plane
  13. Fiji
    an independent state within the British Commonwealth located on the Fiji Islands
  14. French Polynesia
    a French overseas possession in the South Pacific
  15. Gilbert Islands
    a group of islands in Micronesia to the southwest of Hawaii
  16. Guam
    the largest and southernmost island in the Marianas which is administered as a territory of the United States; it was ceded by Spain to the United States in 1898
  17. habitat
    the type of environment in which an organism normally lives
  18. Hawaiian Islands
    a group of volcanic and coral islands in the central Pacific
  19. independence
    freedom from control or influence of another or others
  20. independent
    not controlled by outside forces
  21. jurisdiction
    the territory within which power can be exercised
  22. Kiribati
    an island republic in the west central Pacific just to the south of the equator
  23. lagoon
    a body of water cut off from a larger body by a reef
  24. magma
    molten rock in the earth's crust
  25. marine
    of or relating to the sea
  26. maritime
    bordering on or living near the sea
  27. Marquesas Islands
    a group of volcanic islands in the south central Pacific
  28. Marshall Islands
    a group of coral islands in eastern Micronesia
  29. Melanesia
    the islands in the southwestern part of Oceania
  30. Micronesia
    a country scattered over Micronesia with a constitutional government in free association with the United States; achieved independence in 1986
  31. monarchy
    autocracy governed by a ruler who usually inherits authority
  32. New Guinea
    a Pacific island to the north of Australia
  33. nickel
    a hard malleable ductile silvery metallic element that is resistant to corrosion; used in alloys; occurs in pentlandite and smaltite and garnierite and millerite
  34. Oceania
    a large group of islands in the south Pacific including Melanesia and Micronesia and Polynesia (and sometimes Australasia and the Malay Archipelago)
  35. Palau
    a republic in the western central Pacific Ocean in association with the United States
  36. Papua New Guinea
    a parliamentary democracy on the eastern half of the island of New Guinea; in 1975 it became an independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations
  37. phosphate
    a salt of phosphoric acid
  38. poi
    Hawaiian dish of taro root pounded to a paste and often allowed to ferment
  39. Polynesia
    the islands in the eastern part of Oceania
  40. precipitation
    the falling to earth of any form of water
  41. prime minister
    head of government, especially of a parliamentary democracy
  42. rainforest
    a densely wooded tropical area with heavy precipitation
  43. republic
    a political system in which power lies in a body of citizens
  44. Samoa
    a constitutional monarchy on the western part of the islands of Samoa in the South Pacific
  45. seismic
    subject to or caused by an earthquake or earth vibration
  46. state
    a politically organized body under a single government
  47. subsistence farming
    farming that provides for the basic needs of the farmer without surpluses for marketing
  48. Tahiti
    an island in the south Pacific
  49. taro
    edible starchy tuberous root of taro plants
  50. Tonga
    a monarchy on a Polynesian archipelago in the South Pacific
  51. tourism
    the business of providing services to travelers for pleasure
  52. tsunami
    a cataclysm resulting from a destructive sea wave
  53. volcanic
    relating to eruptions of gas and lava from the earth's crust
  54. volcano
    a fissure in the earth's crust through which gases erupt
Created on Wed Jan 11 11:47:31 EST 2017 (updated Fri Mar 31 16:11:43 EDT 2017)

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