QUICK FACTS
Where is it? Tofua, Ha’apai, Tonga [-19.73996943, -175.072336]
What’s in the photo? Smoke coming from a volcanic cone near the island’s summit
Which satellite took the photo? Landsat 9
When was it taken? April 23, 2022
This stunning aerial shot highlights the “looming threat” of a volcanic island in Tonga, which could violently explode in the future. The island also has a colorful origin story in Tongan mythology, which involves quarreling gods, a stolen mountain and a brightly shining anus.
The island, named Tofua, consists mainly of a massive ring-like caldera left by an explosive eruption millions of years ago. The caldera’s steep walls stand up to 1,690 feet (515 meters) above sea level and harbor a deep crater lake that is around 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) across. The island is part of the Ha’apai island group, a chain of volcanic islands and reefs located along a fault line between the Pacific and Indo-Australian tectonic plates.
One of the Ha’apai region’s most famous inhabitants is the underwater Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai volcano, which violently erupted in January 2022, unleashing a gigantic plume of ash and steam above the ocean’s surface. The explosive outburst, which occurred around 50 miles (80 km) south of Tofua, released as much energy as hundreds of atomic bombs, unleashed giant atmospheric shockwaves that reverberated across the globe, triggered a localized tsunami and wiped out a small nearby island. It also added record amounts of water vapor to Earth’s atmosphere.
Tofua is docile compared to Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai. However, the smoke in the image, which was pumping out of a volcanic cone north of the crater lake, known as Lofia, is a reminder that the island is still very much active and could blow its top once again in the future, according to NASA’s Earth Observatory.
Related: See all the best images of Earth from space
“There’s the looming threat that Lofia could erupt explosively, much like Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai did in 2022,” though nothing suggests an eruption is imminent, NASA representatives wrote in October 2024.
Tofua has erupted at least 12 times since 1774, according to the Smithsonian Institute’s Global Volcanism Program. The most recent and eruptive phase began in 2015 and is technically ongoing. However, the activity has mostly diminished as of May 2024.
An unusual origin story
In Tongan mythology, there is a colorful tale to explain Tofua’s giant caldera and the creation of Kao — a tall cone-shaped island around 2.5 miles (4 km) northeast of Tofua, which is just out of shot in the satellite image.
In “Tongan myths and tales,” (Kraus, 1924) which was compiled from oral tradition told by local people at the time, American anthropologist Edward Winslow Gifford wrote the story:
“Three deities from Samoa, Tuvuvata, Sisi, and Faingaa, conspired to steal Tofua. So they came and tore up the high mountain by its very roots and its place was taken by a large lake. This enraged the Tongan gods very much and one of them, Tafakula, essayed to stop the thieves. He stood on the island of Luahako and bent over so as to show his anus. It shone so brilliantly that the Samoan deities were struck with fear, thinking that the sun was rising and that their dastardly works was about to be revealed. Hence, they dropped the mountain close to Tofua and fled to Samoa. The mountain became the island of Kao.”
It is unclear from the account why Tafakula’s anus shone like the sun.
