Geography of Tonga

Geography of Tonga

Continent	Pacific Ocean
Region	Oceania
Coordinates	20°S 175°W / 20°S 175°W / -20; -175
Area	Ranked 174th
• Total	747 km2 (288 sq mi)
• Land	95.98%
• Water	4.02%
Coastline	419 km (260 mi)
Borders	None
Highest point	on Kao 1,033 metres (3,389 ft)
Lowest point	Pacific Ocean 0 metres (0 ft)
Exclusive economic zone	659,558 km2 (254,657 sq mi)

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 800-kilometre (500-mile)-long north–south line. The total size is just 747 km² (288 sq mi). Due to the spread out islands it has the 40th largest Exclusive Economic Zone of 659,558 km² (254,657 sq mi).

The largest island, Tongatapu, on which the capital city of Nukuʻalofa is located, covers 257 square kilometres (99 sq mi). 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.