NIUAFO'OU

northernmost island of Tonga, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The generally wooded land area of 19 square miles (49 square km) includes a volcanic peak 853 feet (260 m) high, a crater lake, and numerous hot springs. During a particularly violent eruption in 1946, the island's inhabitants were evacuated to 'Eua, several hundred miles to the south. They began returning to Niuafo'ou in 1958. Because of an unusual method of exchanging letters in cans with passing ships, Niuafo'ou gained the nickname Tin Can Island. Pop. (1986) 763.