Tonga (Island)

Geography

The Tongan archipelago stretches roughly 800 km north to south and contains 171 islands grouped into Tongatapu, Ha’apai, Vava’u, the Niuas and ‘Eua. Tongatapu, where the capital Nuku’alofa sits, is the largest and most populous.

Geology

Tonga lies along the boundary of the Pacific and Indo-Australian plates and is home to several active submarine volcanoes. The January 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai was one of the most powerful recorded in modern history.

History

Tonga is the only Pacific nation never formally colonized, retaining its monarchy through the colonial era and into the present.