For 13+ year olds -- Education Services, Wellington, N.Z.

Includes index.

Maps on inside covers.

In English with some Tongan (Tonga Islands).

Introduction = Talateu -- The sun's gifts -- AIR AND WEATHER = LONGOVUKA -- Air temperature = Ko e māfane/momoko ʼa e ʼEa -- Time of day or night -- Latitude -- Season -- How near the sea is -- Cloud -- Shade and shelter -- Altitude -- Air pressure/wind = Matangi -- Pressure and wind belts -- Forecasting -- South Pacific trade winds, anticyclones cyclones -- Water in the air = ʼUha -- Humidity, condensation, clouds -- Rain -- Weather forecasts -- Cyclone case studies -- Climate -- Climographs -- Ozone layer -- Greenhouse effect -- Sea = Tahi -- The sea and being Tongan -- The sea floor -- Sea movement : tides and currents, waves, swells and tsunami -- Sea and the weather -- Resources : energy, plants and animals -- The effect of people, what we take out, what we put in, climate change -- LAND FORMATION = KO HONO FAʼU ʼO E FONU -- The six processes ; Earthquakes = Mofuike ; Volcanoes = Mo ʼunga afi ; Coral = F eo and algae ; Erosion = ʼAu ʼauhia ; Sediment = kele ; Lime precipitation -- Reef limestone = Makalahe -- Land resources = Ko e oloa ʼo e fonua -- Geological history of Tonga = Tukufakeholo ʼo e fa ʼunga e fonua -- Reef linestone below Tonga -- MAPPING -- ISLANDS OF TONGA = ʼOTUMOTU -- Information on each island -- SOIL = KELEKELE -- How soil is made ; Parent material ; Climate ; Land shape ; Living things ; Time -- Soil structure = Fa ʼunga -- Soils in Tonga -- Soil and plants -- WATER = URI -- Water cycle -- Ground water = Toko ʼanga vai ʼi lolofonua -- Water supply = Ma ʼu ʼanga vai -- Tank water = Vai melie -- Piped water = Vai paipa -- Water use -- Conservation = Faka potopoto ʼi ʼo e vai -- LIVING THING = MO ʼUI -- Plants= Ngaahi ʼakau -- Plant communities -- Trees and forest -- Changing the environment -- Animals = Monumanu -- Fitting the environments -- Habitats = Nofo ʼanga ; Dependence on plants, food chaings -- Conservation -- Tauhi/Malu ʼi e me ʼamo ʼui ke tolonga -- Coast live = Me amo ʼui ʼo e matātahi -- A complex environment = ʼĀtakai fihi homo anga -- Habitats ; Reef slope = ʼUlu ʼulu -- Reef platform = Funga hakau -- Mangroves = Tongo (feitu-u) -- Conservation -- Tokanga ʼi mo malu ʼi e matatahi mo e hakau -- Dangers to reefs -- The parcels of Mala and Monu -- Environment game.

Investigates the Tongan environment: the weather, the sea, land and soil formation, the water cycle, animal and plant ecology ; incorporates legend with scientific analysis and includes activities, experiments, research topics and field studies. Suggested level: secondary.