Cocos (Keeling) Islands - Geography

Geography - People - Economy - Government - Communications - Transportation - Military - Transnational Issues

Cocos (Keeling) Islands is located Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka. The climate is tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year. The terrain is flat, low-lying coral atolls.

Location

This entry identifies the country's regional location, neighboring countries, and adjacent bodies of water.
Location : Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka

Geographic coordinates

This entry includes rounded latitude and longitude figures for the purpose of finding the approximate geographic center of an entity and is based on the locations provided in the Geographic Names Server (GNS), maintained by the National Geospatial- Intelligence Agency on behalf of the US Board on Geographic Names.
Geographic coordinates : 12 30 S, 96 50 E

Map references

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Map references : Southeast Asia

Area

This entry includes three subfields. Total area is the sum of all land and water areas delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines. Land area is the aggregate of all surfaces delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines, excluding inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers). Water area is the sum of the surfaces of all inland water bodies, such as lakes, reservoirs, or rivers, as delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines.
Area - total : 14 sq km
Area - land : 14 sq km
Area - water : 0 sq km
Area - note : includes the two main islands of West Island and Home Island

Area - comparative

This entry provides an area comparison based on total area equivalents. Most entities are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states based on area measurements (1990 revised) provided by the US Bureau of the Census. The smaller entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 sq km, 69 sq mi) or The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 sq km, 0.23 sq mi, 146 acres).
Area - comparative : about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries

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Land boundaries : 0 km

Coastline

This entry gives the total length of the boundary between the land area (including islands) and the sea.
Coastline : 26 km

Maritime claims

This entry includes the following claims, the definitions of which are excerpted from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which alone contains the full and definitive descriptions
Maritime claims - territorial sea : 12 nm
Maritime claims - exclusive fishing zone : 200 nm

Climate

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Climate : tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year

Terrain

This entry contains a brief description of the topography.
Terrain : flat, low-lying coral atolls

Elevation extremes

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Elevation extremes - lowest point : Indian Ocean 0 m
Elevation extremes - highest point : unnamed location 5 m

Natural resources

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Natural resources : fish

Land use

This entry contains the percentage shares of total land area for three different types of land use
Land use - arable land : 0%
Land use - permanent crops : 0%
Land use - other : 100% (2005)

Irrigated land

This entry gives the number of square kilometers of land area that is artificially supplied with water.
Irrigated land : NA

Natural hazards

This entry lists potential natural disasters.
Natural hazards : cyclone season is October to April

Environment - current issues

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Environment - current issues : fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs

Geography - note

This entry includes miscellaneous geographic information of significance not included elsewhere.
Geography - note : islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation; site of a World War I naval battle in November 1914 between the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney and the German raider SMS Emden; after being heavily damaged in the engagement, the Emden was beached by her captain on North Keeling Island


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