Tonga
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
51.3km²
Area
50km
Coastline
260m
Highest point
650
People
29°C
Warmest sea
March
3,524km
To the mainland
When to go to Niuafoʻou
Best for the beach from January to March and from July to August.
The sea is warmest in March (29 °C) and coolest in August (27 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Volcanic island in Tonga
Niuafoʻou is an volcanic island in Tonga. It covers 51.3 km², with 50 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 260 m. About 650 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 3,524 km away.
Getting there
- Hihifo Airport (WLS)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 270 km in a straight line
- FerriesNiuatoputapu - Niuafo'ou Ferry, Vava'u - Niuafo'ou Ferry
- 3,524 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From January to March and from July to Augustbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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On the island
What you find on Niuafoʻou.
- 1viewpointsPiu 'o Fahefa
- 1ferry terminals
- 5named peaksPiu 'o Fahefa, Makotu, Makamaka'uli and 2 more
- 4volcanoes
- 2ruins and archaeological sitesFormer site of Angaha village, Ha'afoi
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Niuafoʻou in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Niuafoʻou, each with its own numbers.
1lakeLakeyas
Largest lake
13.1km²
Vai Lahi
according to Lakeyas
1 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Vai Lahi13.1km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 43 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 66 %0–50 m
- 34 %50–200 m
- <1 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
5 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 |
| Night low (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 27 |
| Sea (°C) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 29 |
| Rain (mm) | 273 | 226 | 214 | 192 | 150 | 127 | 53 | 65 | 85 | 154 | 175 | 257 |
| Wet days | 22 | 21 | 23 | 21 | 19 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 21 | 24 |
| Sun h/day | 7.2 | 7.0 | 7.4 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 7.2 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.5 | 7.1 |
| Wind (km/h) | 20 | 20 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 21 | 21 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +1.1 | +1.1 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.2 |
| 2021 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.5 |
| 2022 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +1.0 |
| 2023 | +1.0 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +1.1 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.5 |
| 2024 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +0.8 | +0.1 | +0.8 | +0.1 | −0.1 | +0.5 | −0.2 | +0.3 |
| 2025 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.5 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
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About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q966941) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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