Geography of the Cook Islands

Map showing the two chains of the Cook Islands

The Cook Islands is located in Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand. The country can be divided into two groups: the Southern Cook Islands and the Northern Cook Islands. Rarotonga in the southern group is the main island. All the other islands are known collectively as the Pa Enua or Outer Islands.

The land areas of the southern islands range in size up to the Template:Convert Rarotonga, while none of the northern islands are bigger than Template:Convert. The most populous islands are Rarotonga with a population of 11,000 and Aitutaki with 1,800; none of the other islands have more than 500, and a few are uninhabited.

Two terrestrial ecoregions lie within the Cook Islands territory: the Central Polynesian tropical moist forests and the Cook Islands tropical moist forests.<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Islands and reefs

Island group	Island	Area (km2)	Population	Density (/km2)
Northern	Penrhyn atoll	10	233	24
Northern	Rakahanga	4	81	20
Northern	Manihiki	5	215	40
Northern	Pukapuka	1	456	351
Northern	Tema Reef (submerged)	0	0	–
Northern	Nassau	1	92	71
Northern	Suwarrow	0.4	0	0
Southern	Palmerston	2	25	12
Southern	Aitutaki	18	1,782	97
Southern	Manuae	6	0	0
Southern	Takutea	1	0	0
Southern	Mitiaro	22	155	7
Southern	Atiu	27	383	14
Southern	Mauke	18	249	14
Southern	Winslow Reef (submerged)	0	0	–
Southern	Rarotonga	67	10,898	162
Southern	Mangaia	52	471	9
Total	Total	237	15,040	64

The table is ordered from north to south, but can be re-ordered by any column. Figures are from the 2021 census.<ref name=Census2021>Template:Cite web</ref>

Climate

The climate is tropical, moderated by trade winds, with a dry season from April to November and a more humid season from December to March.<ref>The World Factbook. CIA.</ref> The islands are in the path of tropical cyclones from December to March, the most notable of which were cyclones Martin (1997) and Percy (2005).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Statistics

Area

• Land: Template:Convert

Area - comparative

1.3 times the size of Washington, DC

Coastline

Template:Convert

Maritime claims

• Territorial sea: Template:Convert
• Continental shelf: Template:Convert or to the edge of the continental margin
• Exclusive economic zone: Template:Convert

Terrain

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

Elevation extremes

• Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
• Highest point: Te Manga Template:Convert

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)

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
• List of lakes of the Cook Islands
• List of mountains in the Cook Islands
• List of rivers of the Cook Islands

External links

• Maritime Boundaries