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Vavaʻu
Vavau is an island group, consisting of one large island ( ʻUtu Vavaʻu) and 40 smaller ones, in Tonga. It is part of Vavaʻu District, which includes several other individual islands. According to tradition, the Maui god created both Tongatapu and Vavau, but put a little more effort into the former. Vavau rises above sea level at Mount Talau. The capital is Neiafu, situated at the Port of Refuge (Puatalefusi or Lolo-a-Halaevalu). History Myths and legends In Polynesia, it is said that the islands were created by the god Maui, who reached into the bottom of the sea with his magic hook, caught something on it, and pulled it up to the sea surface, and it became the islands of Vavau. Recorded history Don Francisco Mourelle de la Rúa, commanding the Spanish frigate ''Princesa'', was the first European to come to Vavau, which he did on 4 March 1781. He charted Vavaʻu as ''Martín de Mayorga'', naming it after the man who was the Viceroy of New Spain at that time. Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neiafu (Vavaʻu)
Neiafu is the second-largest town in Tonga with a population of 3,845 in 2021. It is situated beside the Port of Refuge, a deep-water harbour on the south coast of Vavaʻu, the main island of the Vavaʻu archipelago in northern Tonga. To the north-west lies the Mt. Talau with its distinctive flat top. Neiafu is the administrative centre of the Vavaʻu group and has government offices, banks, schools, a police station and a hospital. It is also an important centre for tourism with many yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...s anchoring in the Port of Refuge. In the late 19th century Neiafu was the location of a German coaling-station, established under the country's 1876 Treaty of Friendship with Tonga. The base was transferred to Britain in 1900 with the establish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Administrative Divisions Of Tonga
The island country of Tonga has five administrative divisions. Each of these is further divided into districts, 23 in total. Below are several lists of the divisions, according to different sorting schemes. Statoids.com The Niua Islands is managed directly from Nukuʻalofa, Nuku’alofa, since the population is under 1500 people. Administrative subdivisions By Districts Notes Minerva Reefs is generally considered to be a part of Tonga. It has never formed part of any administrative subdivision or district of Tonga.Area stats The districts of Tonga have the following statistical info: the average size of a district is 31.7 km2, while the median area is 0.0 km2. the size of these districts is predominantly dependent o ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tuʻi Tonga
The Tuʻi Tonga is a line of Tongan kings, which originated in the tenth century with the mythical ʻAhoʻeitu, and withdrew from political power in the fifteenth century by yielding to the ''Tuʻi Haʻatakalaua''. The title ended with the death of the last ''Tuʻi Tonga'', Sanualio Fatafehi Laufilitonga, in 1865, who bequeathed the ancient title and its ''mana'' to his nephew, Fatafehi Tu'i Pelehake, who was the ''Tu'i Faleua'', or Lord of the Second House (traditionally supposed to succeed to the office of the ''Tuʻi Tonga'' should the original line of kings perish without a natural successor). Tu'i Pelehake surrendered the title and its privileges to his father-in-law, King George Tupou I, who united its power and prestige with that of the ''Tu'i Kanokupolu'', '' Tu'i Vava'u'', and '' Tu'i Ha'apai'' titles to establish the modern-day institution of the Tongan Crown. Though the title is no longer conferred, the ancient line remains unbroken and is represented by the noble titl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. As of 2021, according to Johnson's Tribune, Tonga has a population of 104,494, 70% of whom reside on the main island, Tongatapu. The country stretches approximately north-south. It is surrounded by Fiji and Wallis and Futuna (France) to the northwest; Samoa to the northeast; New Caledonia (France) and Vanuatu to the west; Niue (the nearest foreign territory) to the east; and Kermadec (New Zealand) to the southwest. Tonga is about from New Zealand's North Island. First inhabited roughly 2,500 years ago by the Lapita civilization, Tonga's Polynesian settlers gradually evolved a distinct and strong ethnic identity, language, and culture as the Tongan people. They were quick to establish a powerful footing acr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fonualei
Fonualei is an uninhabited volcanic island in the kingdom of Tonga. It 70 km northwest of Vavaʻu and is part of the highly active Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone and its associated volcanic arc, which extends from New Zealand north-northeast to Fiji, and is formed by the subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Indo-Australian Plate. The closest island to Fonualei is Tokū 19.7 km to the southeast. Geography The island is the peak of an active volcano which rises 1000m from the seafloor. It has a diameter of 2 km and a maximum height of 188m. The coast is surrounded by cliffs, with only two beaches suitable for a landing. The western, southern, and north-eastern sides have narrow fringing reefs. History In the 1830s the inhabitants of Tokū used Fonualei for their gardens. The first European to sight the island was Don Francisco Mourelle de la Rua on the ''La Princesa'' on 26 February 1781. He reported the island to be barren from eruptions, and called it for t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late (Tonga)
Late Island is an uninhabited volcanic island southwest of Vavaʻu in the kingdom of Tonga. Geography The small, 6-km-wide circular island of Late, lying along the Tofua volcanic arc about 55 km WSW of the island of Vavau, contains a 400-m-wide, 150-m-deep summit crater with an ephemeral lake. The largely submerged basaltic andesite to andesitic volcano rises 1500 m from the sea floor, with its conical summit reaching 540 m above sea level. Cinder cones are found north of the summit crater, west and north of a semicircular plateau 100–150 m below the summit, and on the NW coast. A graben-like structure on the NE flank contains two large pit craters, the lower of which is partially filled by a saltwater lake. Only two eruptions have occurred in historical time, both from NE-flank craters, which produced explosive activity and possible lava flows in 1790 and 1854. History It was discovered by Spanish naval officer Francisco Mourelle de la Rúa on 27 February 1781, on board ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haʻapai
Haʻapai is a group of islands, islets, reefs, and shoals in the central part of Tonga. It has a combined land area of . The Tongatapu island group lies to its south, and the Vavaʻu group lies to its north. Seventeen of the Haʻapai islands are inhabited. Their combined population is 5,419. The highest point in the Ha‘apai group, and in all of Tonga, is on Kao, which rises almost above sea level. The administrative capital village of Haʻapai District is Pangai, which is located on Lifuka. Geography Haʻapai comprises 51 islands that lie directly west of the Tonga Trench. They constitute a chain of both volcanic and coral islands, including Kao, the highest point in the kingdom, which stands high. Farther to the east are the coral islands, which are inhabited. The Haʻapai archipelago lies north of Tongatapu and south of Vavaʻu. Seventeen of the islands are inhabited, including the main islands of Lifuka and Foa. The two main villages in the archipelago are Pangai on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Māui (mythology)
Māui (Maui) is the great culture hero and trickster in Polynesian mythology. Very rarely was Māui actually worshipped, being less of a deity and more of a folk hero. His origins vary from culture to culture, but many of his main exploits remain relatively similar.Craighill Handy 1927: 118 Tales of Māui's exploits and adventures are told throughout most of Polynesia; they can be traced back as far west as islands off New Guinea. Some exploits common to most Polynesian traditions are stealing fire for humans from the underworld, fishing up islands with his magical hook, and capturing the Sun to lengthen the days. There is a great deal of variation in the representations of Māui from nation to nation, from being a handsome young man, to being an old wise wandering priest. Although Māui was said to be very rascally or "kolohe", many of his deeds were to better the lives of his fellow people. He was respected throughout most cultures of the Pacific and still is famous to this day. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geography Of Tonga
Located in Oceania, Tonga is a small archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, directly south of Samoa and about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand. It has 169 islands, 36 of them inhabited, which are in three main groups – Vavaʻu, Haʻapai, and Tongatapu – and cover an -long north–south line. The total size is just . Due to the spread out islands it has the 40th largest Exclusive Economic Zone of . The largest island, Tongatapu, on which the capital city of Nukualofa is located, covers . Geologically the Tongan islands are of two types: most have a limestone base formed from uplifted coral formations; others consist of limestone overlaying a volcanic base. Climate The climate is tropical with a distinct warm period (December–April), during which the temperatures rise above , and a cooler period (May–November), with temperatures rarely rising above . The temperature increases from , and the annual rainfall is from as one moves from Tongatapu in the sout ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alessandro Malaspina
Alejandro Malaspina (November 5, 1754 – April 9, 1810) was a Tuscan explorer who spent most of his life as a Spanish naval officer. Under a Spanish royal commission, he undertook a voyage around the world from 1786 to 1788, then, from 1789 to 1794, a scientific expedition (the Malaspina Expedition) throughout the Pacific Ocean, exploring and mapping much of the west coast of the Americas from Cape Horn to the Gulf of Alaska, crossing to Guam and the Philippines, and stopping in New Zealand, Australia, and Tonga. Malaspina was christened "Alessandro." He signed his letters in Spanish "Alexandro," which is usually modernized to "Alejandro" by scholars. Early life Malaspina was born in Mulazzo, a small principality ruled by his family, then part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, a fiefdom of the Holy Roman Empire. Alessandro's parents were the Marquis Carlo Morello and Caterina Meli Lupi di Soragna. From 1762 to 1765, his family lived in Palermo with Alessandro's great-uncle, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whaling
Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16th century, it had risen to be the principal industry in the Basque coastal regions of Spain and France. The industry spread throughout the world, and became increasingly profitable in terms of trade and resources. Some regions of the world's oceans, along the animals' migration routes, had a particularly dense whale population, and became the targets for large concentrations of whaling ships, and the industry continued to grow well into the 20th century. The depletion of some whale species to near extinction led to the banning of whaling in many countries by 1969, and to an international cessation of whaling as an industry in the late 1980s. The earliest known forms of whaling date to at least 3000 BC. Coasta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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