The Polynesian expansion

The Polynesian world

The Pacific Ocean is easily the largest body of water on Earth. It is bigger than the whole of the world’s land mass. Even a country as large as Australia could fit into the Pacific 22 times over!

‘Polynesia’ is a Greek word meaning many islands and occupies a large area in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The ‘Polynesian Trangle’ is cornered by Hawaii to the north, New Zealand in the south-west and Easter Island in the south-east. Other important countries are Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands.

The Polynesian Triangle

©Behr H, public domain

For an area that covers 12 million square miles, the racial and cultural make-up of Polynesia is quite consistent across hundreds of islands. Similar features include language, folklore and the art of tattooing (moko). There are differences however, in religious practices and greetings.

The natural world

The Polynesian islands fall into two categories: ‘high’ and ‘low’ islands. The first type is caused by undersea volcanic activity. Gradually magma and lava build up to form an island. Tahiti and Hawaii are good examples of high islands. The fertile volcanic soils produce lush forests and excellent farming land.

Satellite image of Hawaii

Rising from the ocean. Hawaii is the result of underwater volcanoes.

Pacific Ocean atoll

Coral reefs grow around the coast of an island forming a barrier. If the land inside that reef subsides, eventually into the sea, an atoll, or low island will be created (above). But don’t hold your breath. This process can take 30 million years! With their sandy base, atolls are not as fertile as volcanic islands.

A sequence of diagrams showing how a volcanic island becomes an atoll.

Forming an atoll