Micronesia

Canton and Enderbury Islands; Christmas Island; Christmas Island (Australia); Johnston Island; Micronesia, Federated States of; Northern Mariana Islands; Pacific Islands (Trust Territory)
The collective name for islands of the Pacific Ocean east of the Philippines, including the Mariana, PALAU, Caroline, Marshall, and Kiribati Islands. Micronesia is from the Greek micro, small + nesos, island, so named because the islands in this group are much smaller than those in MELANESIA. Micronesia is inhabited by a mixed race of Melanesians, Polynesians, and some Malaysians. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p761 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p350)