Cook Islands - Geography

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

Cook Islands is located Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand. The climate is tropical oceanic; moderated by trade winds; a dry season from April to November and a more humid season from December to March. The terrain is low coral atolls in north; volcanic, hilly islands in south.

Location

This entry identifies the country's regional location, neighboring countries, and adjacent bodies of water.
Location : Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand

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 : 21 14 S, 159 46 W

Map references

This entry includes the name of the Factbook reference map on which a country may be found. Note that boundary representations on these maps are not necessarily authoritative. The entry on Geographic coordinates may be helpful in finding some smaller countries.
Map references : Oceania

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 : 236.7 sq km
Area - land : 236.7 sq km
Area - water : 0 sq km

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 : 1.3 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries

This entry contains the total length of all land boundaries and the individual lengths for each of the contiguous border countries. When available, official lengths published by national statistical agencies are used. Because surveying methods may differ, country border lengths reported by contiguous countries may differ.
Land boundaries : 0 km

Coastline

This entry gives the total length of the boundary between the land area (including islands) and the sea.
Coastline : 120 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 economic zone : 200 nm
Maritime claims - continental shelf : 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate

This entry includes a brief description of typical weather regimes throughout the year.
Climate : tropical oceanic; moderated by trade winds; a dry season from April to November and a more humid season from December to March

Terrain

This entry contains a brief description of the topography.
Terrain : low coral atolls in north; volcanic, hilly islands in south

Elevation extremes

This entry includes both the highest point and the lowest point.
Elevation extremes - lowest point : Pacific Ocean 0 m
Elevation extremes - highest point : Te Manga 652 m

Natural resources

This entry lists a country's mineral, petroleum, hydropower, and other resources of commercial importance.
Natural resources : NEGL

Land use

This entry contains the percentage shares of total land area for three different types of land use
Land use - arable land : 16.67%
Land use - permanent crops : 8.33%
Land use - other : 75% (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 : typhoons (November to March)

Environment - current issues

This entry lists the most pressing and important environmental problems. The following terms and abbreviations are used throughout the entry
Environment - current issues : NA

Environment

Environment - international agreements - party to : Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
Environment - international agreements - signed, but not ratified : none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

This entry includes miscellaneous geographic information of significance not included elsewhere.
Geography - note : the northern Cook Islands are seven low-lying, sparsely populated, coral atolls; the southern Cook Islands, where most of the population lives, consist of eight elevated, fertile, volcanic isles, including the largest, Rarotonga, at 67 sq km

More Information about the country

Travel Advisor