Tongatapu

Tongatapu

Tongatapu is the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga and the location of its capital Nukuʻalofa. It is located in Tonga’s southern island group, to which it gives its name. The island is covered with thick fertile soil consisting of volcanic ash from neighboring volcanoes.

About Tongatapu in brief

Summary TongatapuTongatapu is the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga and the location 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. The island is covered with thick fertile soil consisting of volcanic ash from neighboring volcanoes. The almost completely closed Fanga’uta and Fangakakau Lagoons are important breeding grounds for birds and fish as they live within the mangroves growing around the lagoon’s shores.

Captain James Cook, sailing the British vessel Resolution visited the island on October 2, 1773 by some accounts and by other accounts October 1774, returning again in 1777, with Omai, whereupon they left some cattle for breeding.