Tonga Geography : Tonga  

Tonga Geography - Travel guide

Geography of Tonga

Tonga Geography

In all, Tonga is comprised of 176 coral and volcanic islands, thirty-six of which are inhabited.
The country is divided into four distinct parts, each scenically diverse. The Tongatapu group is the most populated and farthest south. It is Tonga’s cultural centre and home to the capital, Nuku’alofa.

The central Ha’apai group lies approximately 80nm north, an archipelago of low coral islands surrounding soaring volcanoes. Ha’apai is a diver and fisherman’s dream. Continuing 80nm north is the Vava’u group, considered to be Tonga’s sailing centre. It is a beautiful cluster of waterways and pristine, sparsely inhabited islets at the centre lies an immense landlocked harbor. And in the extreme northern reaches are the Niuas, an isolated trio of volcanic islands 320nm from Tongatapu where traditional Tongan customs and culture still thrive.

Tonga is located on the eastern edge of the Indo-Australian Plate, which is forced up by the Pacific Plate pushing under it at the Tonga Trench. This long oceanic valley extends north-south and reaches depths over 5.5nm. Tonga lies on a volcanic ridge known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the ridge extends from New Zealand to Samoa, then back toward Vanuatu and the Solomons. Where Tongatapu, Ha’apai and Vava’u lie, towering volcanoes once dominated the landscape. As they sank into the sea, coral polyps gradually built the islands existing today.