
(AP Photo / Matangi Tonga Online, Pesi Fonua)
An underwater volcano has erupted this week in the vicinity of the Tonga archipelago, between Tahiti and Australia, forming spectacular clouds of smoke, steam and ash several thousand meters high over the Pacific Ocean. According to volcanologists, the eruption had its origin in a strong tsunami that shook the Pacific Ocean last Friday between the atolls of Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha? Apai.
The northern Lau Basin, located between Fiji, Samoa and Tonga, has dozens of active underwater volcanoes, at a depth of between 1,000 and 1,500 meters under the waters, which hide vast mineral reserves.





