 Satellite picture of Tongatapu | |
 | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 21°12′41″S175°09′11″W / 21.21139°S 175.15306°W /-21.21139; -175.15306 |
| Archipelago | Tonga Islands |
| Area | 260.48 km2 (100.57 sq mi) |
| Administration | |
Tonga | |
| Largest settlement | Nukuʻalofa (pop. 23,221) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 74,454[1] (2021) |
| Pop. density | 273.57/km2 (708.54/sq mi) |
| Ethnic groups | Tongan (majority), European, Chinese, Pacific Islanders. |
Tongatapu is the main island ofTonga and the site of its capital,Nukuʻalofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% of the national population, on 260 square kilometres (100 square miles). Tongatapu is Tonga's centre of government and the seat of its monarchy.
Tongatapu has experienced more rapid economic development than the other islands of Tonga, and has thus attracted many internal migrants from them.
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(May 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The island is 257.03 square kilometres (99.24 square miles) (or 260.48 square kilometres (100.57 square miles) including neighbouring islands) and rather flat, as it is built of corallimestone. The island is covered with thick fertile soil consisting ofvolcanic ash from neighbouring volcanoes. At the steep coast of the south, heights reach an average of 35 metres (115 feet), and maximum 70 metres (230 feet), gradually decreasing towards the north.
North of the island are many small isolated islands andcoral reefs which extend up to 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) from Tongatapu's shores. The almost completely closed Fanga'uta and Fangakakau Lagoons are important breeding grounds for birds and fish as they live within themangroves growing around thelagoon's shores. The lagoons were declared a Natural Reserve in 1974 by the government.[citation needed]
Tongatapu has a rather cooler climate than the rest of Tonga as it is the southernmost group of islands in the country. Because of this, fruit production is lower in Tongatapu than it is in the warmer islands in the north.
| Climate data forNukuʻalofa (Köppen Af) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 32 (90) | 32 (90) | 31 (88) | 30 (86) | 30 (86) | 28 (82) | 28 (82) | 28 (82) | 28 (82) | 29 (84) | 30 (86) | 31 (88) | 32 (90) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29.4 (84.9) | 29.9 (85.8) | 29.6 (85.3) | 28.5 (83.3) | 26.8 (80.2) | 25.8 (78.4) | 24.9 (76.8) | 24.8 (76.6) | 25.3 (77.5) | 26.4 (79.5) | 27.6 (81.7) | 28.7 (83.7) | 27.3 (81.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.4 (79.5) | 26.8 (80.2) | 26.6 (79.9) | 25.3 (77.5) | 23.6 (74.5) | 22.7 (72.9) | 21.5 (70.7) | 21.5 (70.7) | 22.0 (71.6) | 23.1 (73.6) | 24.4 (75.9) | 25.6 (78.1) | 24.1 (75.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 23.4 (74.1) | 23.7 (74.7) | 23.6 (74.5) | 22.1 (71.8) | 20.3 (68.5) | 19.5 (67.1) | 18.1 (64.6) | 18.2 (64.8) | 18.6 (65.5) | 19.7 (67.5) | 21.1 (70.0) | 22.5 (72.5) | 20.9 (69.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 16 (61) | 17 (63) | 15 (59) | 15 (59) | 13 (55) | 11 (52) | 10 (50) | 11 (52) | 11 (52) | 12 (54) | 13 (55) | 16 (61) | 10 (50) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 174 (6.9) | 210 (8.3) | 206 (8.1) | 165 (6.5) | 111 (4.4) | 95 (3.7) | 95 (3.7) | 117 (4.6) | 122 (4.8) | 128 (5.0) | 123 (4.8) | 175 (6.9) | 1,721 (67.8) |
| Average rainy days | 17 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 180 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 77 | 78 | 79 | 76 | 78 | 77 | 75 | 75 | 74 | 74 | 73 | 75 | 76 |
| Source: Weatherbase[3] | |||||||||||||
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(May 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Tongatapu is known as having one of the highest concentration of archaeological remains in the Pacific. The earliest traces ofLapita pottery found in Tonga was from around 900–850 BC, 300 years after the first settlements in Tonga were established. Archaeologist David Burley discovered thepottery around the Fanga'uta Lagoon, 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) away from the Lapita pottery found atSanta Cruz in theSolomon Islands.
Tonga was always the seat of theTuʻi Tonga Empire, but in an area of distances up to 1,000 kilometres (620 miles), it was often only a symbolic rule. From the first capital at Toloa, around 1000 years ago, to the second capital at Heketā, at the site of theHaʻamonga ʻa MauiTrilithon, none boasts more traditional attractions than the third capital atMuʻa (from 1220–1851) with more than 20 royalgrave mounds.
Tongatapu was first sighted byEuropeans on 20 January 1643 byAbel Tasman commanding two ships, theHeemskerck and theZeehaen commissioned by theDutch East India Company ofBatavia (Jakarta). The expedition's goals were to chart the unknown southern and eastern seas and to find a possible passage through theSouth Pacific andIndian Ocean providing a faster route toChile. The expedition set sail from Batavia on 14 August 1642. Tasman named the island "t’ Eijlandt Amsterdam" (Amsterdam Island), because of its abundance of supplies.[4] This name is no longer used except by historians.
CommanderJames Cook, sailing theBritish vesselResolution visited the island on October 2, 1773 by some accounts[5] and by other accounts[6] October 1774, returning again in 1777, withOmai,[7] whereupon they leftsome cattle for breeding. These were still flourishing in 1789 whenBounty, underFletcher Christian visited.
The earliest mention of the name Tongatapu (spelled "Tongataboo" in the text) was by James Cook in 1777, as he wrote his memoirs for theThree Voyages Around the World, Volume 1.
British andAmerican whalers were regular visitors to the island for provisions, water and wood. The first on record was theHope, in April–May 1807. The last known to have called was theAlbatross in November–December 1899.[8]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 57,411 | — |
| 1986 | 63,794 | +11.1% |
| 1996 | 66,979 | +5.0% |
| 2006 | 72,045 | +7.6% |
| 2011 | 75,416 | +4.7% |
| 2016 | 74,611 | −1.1% |
| 2021 | 74,454 | −0.2% |
| Sources:[9][10][1] | ||
21°12′41″S175°09′11″W / 21.21139°S 175.15306°W /-21.21139; -175.15306
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
