Niua is a division of the Kingdom of Tonga, namely the northernmost group of islands.

Piu'o Tafahi is the highest point with an elevation of 560 m. The islands lie at approximately 15° south latitude and 175° to 173° west longitude, approximately 600km north of the Tongan capital of Nukuʻalofa, 300 - 375 km northwest of Vavaʻu, and 320 - 470 km south or southwest of Samoa.

[3] There are other volcanoes in this part of the Tofua chain which do not reach sea level, but form seamounts with between 1200 and 1500m of water above their peaks.

This includes the Mata group, the Curacoa volcano, and the large submarine caldera Niuatahi.

The Niua group was first encountered by Europeans in 1616 by Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire Cornelisz during their circumnavigation.