Late (Tonga)

Late is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean, part of the Kingdom of Tonga. The nearly circular island located along the volcanic arc Tofua Island, about 55 kilometers southwest of the island of Vava'u. It has a diameter from 4.4 to 5.3 kilometers traveled, an area of 18.5 km ², according to other sources 17.4 km ². It has a 400 m wide and 140 m deep crater with an ephemeral lake. The mostly submerged, composed of basalt and andesite stratovolcano rises to around 1500 meters from the seabed. Its conical summit rises 540 meters above the sea level. At the summit of the crater in the highlands around 100 to 150 meters to the north and west of the crater can find several cinder cones. In the northeast of the island there is a grave structure with two Pitkratern, one of which is partially filled with a saltwater lake. In historical times there were 1790 and 1854 volcanic eruptions. Both eruptions occurred in the northeast of the island, which may have caused lava flows.

Until the mid-19th century, the island was inhabited; Descendants of the inhabitants now live on the island of Hunga in the Vavau group. Kava plantations were created mainly in the northwest of the island before 1991. Occasionally, small groups of people held on to the island to work in the plantations.

Translate is one of the few islands in the South Pacific, which still has a somewhat more stable population of purple shoulder pigeons. This type is classified by the IUCN as endangered ( vulnerable ).