Geography of the Cook Islands

21°14′S 159°46′W

Map showing the two chains of the Cook Islands

The Cook Islands can be divided into two groups: the Southern Cook Islands and the Northern Cook Islands. The country is located in Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand.

From December through to March, the Cook Islands are in the path of tropical cyclones, the most notable of which were cyclones Martin (1997) and Percy (2005).^[1] Two terrestrial ecoregions lie within the islands' territory: the Central Polynesian tropical moist forests and the Cook Islands tropical moist forests.^[2]

Islands and reefs

Southern Cook Islands

• Aitutaki
• Atiu
• Mangaia
• Manuae
• Mauke
• Mitiaro
• Palmerston Island
• Rarotonga (capital)
• Takutea

Northern Cook Islands

• Manihiki
• Nassau
• Penrhyn atoll
• Pukapuka
• Rakahanga
• Suwarrow

Table

Island Group	Island	Area (km2)	Population	Density
Northern	Penrhyn	10	226	22.6
Northern	Rakahanga	4	80	20.0
Northern	Manihiki	5	213	42.6
Northern	Pukapuka	1	444	444.0
Northern	Tema Reef (submerged)	0	0	–
Northern	Nassau	1	78	78.0
Northern	Suwarrow	0	0	0.0
Southern	Palmerston	2	58	28.0
Southern	Aitutaki	18	1,928	107.1
Southern	Manuae	6	0	0.0
Southern	Takutea	1	0	0.0
Southern	Mitiaro	22	155	7.1
Southern	Atiu	27	437	16.2
Southern	Mauke	18	297	16.5
Southern	Winslow Reef (submerged)	0	0	–
Southern	Rarotonga	67	13,044	194.7
Southern	Mangaia	52	499	9.6
Total	Total	237	17,459	73.7

Note: The table is ordered from north to south. Population figures from the 2016 census.^[3]

Statistics

Area

• Total: 236 km² (91 sq mi)
• Land: 236 km²
• Water: 0 km²

Area - comparative

1.3 times the size of Washington, DC

Coastline

120 km (75 mi)

Maritime claims

• Territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)
• Continental shelf: 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi) or to the edge of the continental margin
• Exclusive economic zone: 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi)

Climate

Tropical; moderated by trade winds; a dry season from April to November and a more humid season from December to March

Terrain

Low coral atolls in north; volcanic, hilly islands in south

Elevation extremes

• Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
• Highest point: Te Manga 652 m (2,139 ft)

Natural resources

coconuts

fresh water

Land use

• Arable land: 4.17%
• Permanent crops: 4.17%
• Other: 91.67% (2012 est.)

Natural hazards

Typhoons (November to March)

Tsunamis (Year-round)

Time Zone

UTC -10 (GMT -10)

Largest Island

Rarotonga

Environment - international agreements

• Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection

See also

• List of ecoregions in the Cook Islands

References

1. "Cook Islands climate: average weather, temperature, precipitation, best time". www.climatestotravel.com. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
2. Dinerstein, Eric; Olson, David; Joshi, Anup; Vynne, Carly; Burgess, Neil D.; Wikramanayake, Eric; et al. (2017). "An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm". BioScience. 67 (6): 534–545. doi:10.1093/biosci/bix014. ISSN 0006-3568. PMC 5451287. PMID 28608869.
3. "Cook Islands Ministry of Finance and Economic Management, 2016 Census". Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.

 This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. CIA.

External links

• Maritime Boundaries