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World > Oceania >
Cook Islands > Geography (Facts)
| Cook Islands - Geography (Facts) |
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| Location: |
Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
| Geographic coordinates: |
21 14 S, 159 46 W |
| Map references: |
Oceania |
| Area: |
total: 236.7 sq km
land: 236.7 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative: |
1.3 times the size of Washington, DC |
| Land boundaries: |
0 km |
| Coastline: |
120 km |
| Maritime claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
| Climate: |
tropical oceanic; 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: |
NEGL |
| Land use: |
arable land: 16.67%
permanent crops: 8.33%
other: 75% (2005) |
| Irrigated land: |
NA |
| Natural hazards: |
typhoons (November to March) |
| Environment - current issues: |
NA |
| Environment - international agreements: |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| 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 |
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