| |
 |
Geography
|
Tonga
TONGA (汤加) is an independent island nation in the southern Pacific Ocean, located approximately 650km southeast of Fiji and about 1,850km northeast of New Zealand.
Nukualofa (努库阿洛法) is the country's capital, chief port and largest town.
Tonga consists of more than 150 islands spread over about 360,000sqkm of the Pacific Ocean. They are divided into three main groups — Tongatapu (汤加塔布岛), Ha'apai (哈派群岛) and Vava'u (瓦瓦乌群岛). About 40 of the islands are inhabited.
Several islands have active volcanoes. Volcanic ash creates fertile soil, and the islands are well-vegetated.
The natural plant and animal life are limited, but include hibiscus (木槿) plants and giant flying foxes, a species of bat. Marine life is abundant and provides an important source of food.
The climate is tropical with high humidity and an average daily temperature range of 16 to 29 degrees Celsius. Precipitation averages 1,610mm a year. The rainiest months are from December to April, which roughly coincides with the cyclone season.
The population of Tonga (2000 estimate) is 109,959.
Education is free and compulsory for children from the ages of six to 14.
In 1900 Tonga became a British protectorate (保护国) and received full independence in 1970. It joined the Commonwealth (英联邦成员国) the same year.
(SD-Agencies)
|
|
|
|
