Location:
Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand

Geographic coordinates:
21 14 S, 159 46 W

Map references:
Oceania

Area:
total: 236 sq km
land: 236 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

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