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

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

Statistics

 * Area:
 * Total: 236 km2
 * Land: 236 km2
 * Water: 0 km2


 * Area - comparative:
 * 1.3 times the size of Washington, DC


 * Coastline:
 * 120 km


 * Maritime claims:
 * Territorial sea: 12 nmi
 * Continental shelf: 200 nmi or to the edge of the continental margin
 * Exclusive economic zone: 200 nmi


 * 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


 * Natural resources:
 * coconuts


 * Land use:
 * Arable land: 4.17%
 * Permanent crops: 4.17%
 * Other: 91.67% (2012 est.)


 * Natural hazards:
 * Typhoons (November to March)


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