Melanesia, one of the three major subdivisions (with Micronesia and Polynesia) of the Pacific Islands, encompassing the islands in the western Pacific Ocean, south of the equator. Melanesia’s westernmost island is New Guinea, the largest of all the Pacific Islands and the world’s second largest island after Greenland. Western New Guinea consists of the Indonesian province of Papua; the eastern half of the island and several major offshore islands and island groups form the independent nation of Papua New Guinea. Stretching east and south of New Guinea are the countries of Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, the French territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies, and the nation of Fiji Islands (commonly known as Fiji). European explorers named the region Melanesia (Greek for “dark islands”) because of the dark complexion of the inhabitants. More than 700 languages are spoken in the region (see Austronesian Languages).