Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai is a submarine volcano in the South Pacific located about 30 km south of the submarine volcano of Fonuafoʻou and 65 km north of Tongatapu, Tonga’s main island.
It lies along the Pacific ‘Ring of fire’, and is just over 60 kilometres from the island nation of Tonga.
The Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’ or Pacific rim, or the Circum-Pacific Belt, is an area along the Pacific Ocean that is characterised by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes. It is home to about 75 per cent of the world’s volcanoes – more than 450 volcanoes. Also, about 90 per cent of the world’s earthquakes occur here.