Cook Islands

Cook Islands Geography

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

Area
total: 240 sq km
land: 240 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; moderated by trade winds

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: 17.39%
permanent crops: 13.04%
other: 69.57% (2001)

Irrigated land
NA sq km

Natural hazards
typhoons (November to March)

Environment - current issues
NA

Environment - international agreements
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea
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 consist of eight elevated, fertile, volcanic isles where most of the populace lives



- Info Provided by the CIA World Factbook -