Country Profile: Tonga

Country Resources

Topographic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Tonga 1:25,000 Scale Topographic Maps (X872 / DOS 337)Directorate of Overseas Surveys1:25,0001975 – 197623

Thematic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
The World 1:30,000,000 Scale Topographic Map Series 1145 (NGA)DMA1:30,000,0002

Global Census Archive: GIS Census Data

East View Geospatial has an ongoing effort to add GIS census data to our Global Census Archive program. Please contact us for the status and availability of Tonga census resources.


Global Resources

Topographic
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Soviet Military City PlansVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)Varies1944 – 20033017
Soviet Military 1:100,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:100,0001947 – 199924897
Soviet Military 1:200,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:200,0001949 – 200917799
Soviet Military 1:500,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:500,0001953 – 19983093

Nautical
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
NGA Nautical Charts POD Certified (All Scales)National Geospatial-Intelligence AgencyVaries1943 – 20134517

Aeronautical
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Joint Operations Graphic (JOG) 1:250,000 – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:250,0001958 – 20074204
Tactical Pilotage Chart (TPC) 1:500,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:500,0001967 – 2006598
Operational Navigation Chart (ONC) 1:1,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:1,000,0001969 – 2001243
Jet Navigation Chart (JNC) 1:2,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:2,000,0001971 – 1999117
Global Navigation and Planning Chart (GNC) 1:5,000,000 Scale – AeronauticalDefence Mapping Agency1:5,000,0001981 – 199927

Geoscientific
SeriesPublisherScaleYearsSheets
Soviet Military 1:1,000,000 Scale Topographic MapsVoenno-topograficheskoe upravlenie General’nogo shtaba (Soviet Union)1:1,000,0001948 – 19941089

Note: East View Geospatial is continuously sourcing new resources that may not yet be listed in Global Explorer. Please contact us if you have geodata needs beyond what is listed above and we will be happy to discuss available off-the-shelf and custom solutions.


Historical Country Mapping Information

Jump to: Topographic | Soil | Tourist/Reference

Topographic

Modern mapping of the Kingdom of Tonga was established in the decade after the islands gained independence from Britain in 1970. 1:25,000 scale coverage in 23 sheets was compiled by the Directorate of Overseas Surveys (DOS), (now Ordnance Survey International (OSI)). These line maps were on the Transverse Mercator projection, International ellipsoid, used the UTM grid and plotted relief with 10 m contour intervals. Other DOS coverage included 1:50,000 scale full-color photo maps of Tongatapu island. The Tonga Ministry of Lands Survey and Natural Resources (TMLSNR) acts as the national surveying authority and maintains some larger scale mapping, including a 1:2,500 scale map of the capital Nuku’alofa. Small scale coverage includes a 1:1,000,000 scale map of the group first published in 1969, a monochrome copy of DOS mapping republished at 1:900,000 by the Hawaii Geographical Society (HGS) and a map of the islands from Pacific Maps.

Soviet military topographic mapping of Tonga exists at the following scale: 1:1,000,000 (5 sheets, complete coverage, published 1965-1973). This product is available in print, digital raster and digital vector GIS formats from East View Geospatial.


Soil

1:25,000 scale soil maps of parts of the Vava’u, and Ha’apai groups and ‘Eua island has been published with sheet explanations by the New Zealand Soil Bureau (now Landcare Research). More recent 1:100,000 scale soil mapping of Tongatapu has also been published.


Tourist/Reference

Thematic mapping of the Tonga group was compiled by New Zealand agencies in the 1980s.

Other recent mapping activity has been sponsored by the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) which in 1995 issued a bathymetric chart of the islands’ Exclusive Economic Zone.

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