Geography of the Cook Islands

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21°14′S 159°46′W / 21.233°S 159.767°W / -21.233; -159.767

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 67-square-kilometre (26 sq mi) Rarotonga, while none of the northern islands are bigger than 10 square kilometres (3.9 sq mi). 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.[1] From December through to March, the islands are in the path of tropical cyclones, the most notable of which were cyclones Martin (1997) and Percy (2005).[2]

Islands and reefs

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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.[3]

Statistics

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Area
  • Land: 237 km2 (92 sq mi)
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)
Environment - international agreements

See also

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References

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "Cook Islands climate: average weather, temperature, precipitation, best time". www.climatestotravel.com. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  3. ^ "Census of Population and Dwellings 2021" (PDF). Cook Islands Statistics Office. 2022. p. 17. Retrieved 1 August 2025.

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

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