Ha'apai
Encyclopedia
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
s, islet
Islet
An islet is a very small island.- Types :As suggested by its origin as islette, an Old French diminutive of "isle", use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability....
s, reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
s and shoal
Shoal
Shoal, shoals or shoaling may mean:* Shoal, a sandbank or reef creating shallow water, especially where it forms a hazard to shipping* Shoal draught , of a boat with shallow draught which can pass over some shoals: see Draft...
s in the central part of the Kingdom of Tonga, with the Tongatapu
Tongatapu
Tongatapu is the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga and the location of its capital Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with approximately 71,260 residents , 70.5% of the national population...
group to the south and the Vavau
Vava'u
Vavau is an island chain of one large island and 40 smaller ones in Tonga. According to tradition Maui fished both Tongatapu and Vavau but put a little more effort into the former. Vavau rises 204 meters above sea level...
group to the north. Seventeen of the Haapai islands are populated.
Pangai
Pangai
Pangai is the administrative capital village of the Haapai Group in Tonga.-The Town:The village is on the western shore of Lifuka and has about 2,000 inhabitants ....
is the administrative capital village of the Ha'apai Group and is located on Lifuka
Lifuka
Lifuka is an island in the Kingdom of Tonga. It is located within the Haapai Group in the centre of the country, to northeast of the national capital of Nukualofa...
.
All the larger islands are in the eastern Lifuka group. The two larger islands are Lifuka
Lifuka
Lifuka is an island in the Kingdom of Tonga. It is located within the Haapai Group in the centre of the country, to northeast of the national capital of Nukualofa...
and Foa
Foa
Foa is an island in Tonga. It is located within the Haapai group in the centre of the country, to northeast of the national capital of Nukualofa.Foa is linked to adjacent Lifuka Island by a causeway, and is located 640 meters northeast of Lifuka....
which have 2,968 and 1,485 people respectively in 2006. After the two larger islands are Nomuka
Nomuka
Nomuka is a small island in the southern part of the Haapai group of islands in the Kingdom of Tonga. It is part of the Nomuka Group of islands, also called the Otu Muomua....
and Haano
Ha'ano
Haano is an island in the Haapai islands of Tonga. To the south are the islands of Foa and Lifuka.The island is 6.58 km² in area. It is losing population, which sank from 588 in 1996 to 477 in 2006.The four villages are all located on the west coast...
which have four village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
s with a population of 951. To the south of these islands is Uiha
'Uiha
Uiha is an island in Lifuka district, in the Haapai islands of Tonga. It had a population of 638 and an area of 5.36 km².More about Ha'apai at http://www.nelligennet.com/horst.com...
, which contains two villages with a population of 638, ancient burial grounds and an ancient monument.
The large islands of Tofua
Tofua
Tofua Caldera, in Tonga, is the summit caldera of a steep-sided composite cone that forms Tofua Island. Tofua Island is in Tonga's Ha'apai island group. Pre-caldera activity is recorded by a sequence of pyroclastic deposits and lavas constituting the older cone, followed on the northern part of the...
(active volcano) and Kao
Kao (island)
Kao is an island and stratovolcano in Tonga. It reaches above sea level, the highest point in Tonga. The date of its last eruption is unknown, and fresh lava flows are not seen, but the absence of deep erosional gullies or high sea cliffs suggests a very recent origin. It lies about north of...
(dormant volcano) are in the far west. The islands of the Kotu
Kotu
Kotu can refer to:* a Matoran character in Bionicle storyline* a minor, but traditionally important island in Tonga. See Kotu Island* Kotu, Ethiopia* a town in The Gambia, near Serekunda, the most populous city. See Kotu, The Gambia...
group, locally known as Lulunga, are in the southwest of the archipelago. The islands of the Nomuka
Nomuka
Nomuka is a small island in the southern part of the Haapai group of islands in the Kingdom of Tonga. It is part of the Nomuka Group of islands, also called the Otu Muomua....
group, locally known as Otu Muomua, are further south.
See also
- 2006 Tonga earthquake2006 Tonga earthquakeThe 2006 Tonga earthquake occurred on 4 May 2006 at 04:26 local time . There were no reports of death or injury. With a strength of 7.9 it was the strongest quake since the 28 March 2005 Sumatra earthquake following from the infamous 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake .-Summary:The United States...
- List of islands & villages in Tonga