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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 30 general entries.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Tonga
| What are the colors of Tonga's flag? | Tonga
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red and white. It is red with a white cross in the lefthand corner.
| What are the two major industries of Tonga? | Tonga
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fishing and tourism. The major trading partners are Japan, New Zealand, and Australia.
| What are the people from Tonga called? | Tonga
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| Who were the first people to settle in Tonga? | Tonga
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Polynesians. They arrived about 3,000 years ago.
| What is the capital of Tonga? | Tonga
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| What is the name of Tonga's currency? | Tonga
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| How many main island groups are there in Tonga? | Tonga
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three. They are Ha'apai, Tongatapu, and Vava'u.
| About how many islands does Tonga consist of? | Tonga
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170. Forty-eight of these islands are inhabited.
| At night it's customary to go to a kalapu in Tonga. Females will serve you the local drink in coconut cups, although it is not customary that they drink it as well. What are you drinking? | Tonga - An Island Monarchy
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Kava. Kava is both the plant and the beverage made from the roots of that plant. It is a traditional Oceanic drink and is used widely in many cultures of the different islands, and extensively in Tonga itself. The drink itself is non-alcoholic, however, it does have several psychoactive components that give you 'interesting' effects.
In Tonga, a club is called a "kalapu" and it's customary to go nightly. Females are usually the ones serving the beverage, and no related male may be in the kalapu - otherwise it's taboo. Customarily, kava is consumed by males only.
| Tupou Maeakafaua Ngininginiofolanga was the first King of Tonga, deposing the tribal chiefs who ruled there up to that point. What English name in the style of a British monarch did he take upon himself? | Tonga - An Island Monarchy
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George. Siaosi (George) Tupou I, or Tāufa'āhau I, was the first monarch of the Kingdom of Tonga which was established in 1875. He was first established as the Tu'i Ha'apai to succeed his father. He got his ambition from his father who tried to become elected as high chief but was snubbed by all the other tribal chiefs. When Tāufa'āhau tried for this same position, he was thwarted when another was made high chief.
Gathering support, Tāufa'āhau made conquest after conquest through shrewd political dealings and several battles. He took control of the entire nation in 1852 and set about enacting policies like the abolition of serfdom and the establishment of Nuku'alofa as the capital (predating to 1845). In 1875 he was crowned King of Tonga and took upon himself the name "Siaosi" which is Tongan for "George".
| Nuku'alofa is the largest city in Tonga and the nation's capital. On which island, from which Tonga derives its name, is Nuku'alofa located? | Tonga - An Island Monarchy
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Tongatapu. Tongatapu is the home to more than two thirds of Tongan citizens, with most of them living in the capital, Nuku'alofa. The Tongan royal family traditionally has lived here on the island since the establishment of the monarchy. It is also the home to the ancient capital of Tonga, Mu'a, and the burial ground of the ancient tribal chiefs of the island, Langi.
The island was first landed on by a European in 1643 by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman (after whom Tasmania, an island in Australia, is named). He called the island t' Eijlandt Amsterdam, as Europeans had a penchant for renaming everything.
| Captain James Cook arrived in Tonga in 1773. What name did he give the kingdom after (and based on) his reception there? | Tonga - An Island Monarchy
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Friendly Islands. Captain James Cook was certainly not the first European explorer to reach Tonga, however, his arrival was fortuitous in that it coincided with a festival. He arrived in the middle of 'inasi', which is described as a "tribute of yams to the Tu'i Tonga by the chiefs of all of Tonga". The Tu'i Tonga was the high chief of the islands, an office held until the monarchy was established.
Captain Cook found the locals to be very friendly during these festivals. So friendly, that he decided to name Tonga the Friendly Islands. However, the locals may have been a bit too friendly...William Mariner, a British writer living in Tonga claimed that the islanders were, in fact, trying to kill James Cook, but were unable to devise a suitable plan of action. Imagine how the legacy of James Cook would have developed had he ended up as stew.
| You're not expected to know that the highest point in Tonga is located on the island of Kao. Given that I don't expect you to know obscure information, what is its name? | Tonga - An Island Monarchy
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It has no name. The island of Kao is, in fact, the peak of a volcano. At approximately 1030 meters above sea level, it is the highest point in all of Tonga, however, the place itself has no name. The volcano itself is dormant, but, potentially active. Nevertheless, volcanic activity hasn't been seen on the island for a while. Kao itself is uninhabited primarily because of the very steep 35-degree slopes.
The lowest point in Tonga is obviously the Pacific Ocean adjacent to no particular island.
| Many of the islands in Tonga have a rock base that is volcanic. Of the ones that aren't, what kind of rock is their base made of? | Tonga - An Island Monarchy
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limestone. Because of the volcanic nature of the area, many of the islands of Tonga are dormant or extinct volcanoes and are made of igneous rock formed when magma erupted to the surface and cooled. However, these conditions were favourable to coral growth. Years upon years of coral growth in the area left many limestone deposits and some of these were thrust upwards and out of the water of the ocean forming limestone islands.
The abundance of coral brings with it many other marine animals, and over time, shells, bones, and other natural deposits form a calcium carbonate covering. Later, this formerly-organic deposit can form into limestone.
| Tonga is particularly susceptible to both earthquakes and volcanic activity. This is because it is located where the Pacific tectonic plate brushes up against the Tongan microplate (some consider an extension of the Australian plate). What is this zone known as? | Tonga - An Island Monarchy
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The Ring of Fire. The Pacific Ring of Fire goes in a horseshoe shape around the Pacific Ocean from the southern tip of Chile north along the South American west coast, the North American West coast, through the Aleutian Islands, south through Japan to Indonesia. There it turns east through New Guinea and around Tonga it heads south once again before culminating just to the south of New Zealand.
The Pacific tectonic plate is one of the heaviest and is responsible for much seismic activity. Mount St. Helens in the USA, Llaima Volcano in Chile and Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines are but a handful of the active volcanoes that have recently erupted in the Ring of Fire. Mount Fuji in Japan and Klyuchevskaya Sopka in Russia are a few other well-known volcanoes that are a part of this notorious chain.
Many of the islands of Tonga are volcanic in nature.
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