Cook Islands
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The Cook Islands epitomize the dream of an idyllic island in the south Pacific. Scattered like pearls in the vast ocean, they lie between longitude 156° and 170°W and between latitude 8° and 23°S, some 3500km/21,700mi northeast of New Zealand. Their charms - unspoiled natural beauty and palm-shaded beaches - have not been ruined by mass tourism.
The Cook Islands consist of a northern group of seven and a southern group of eight islands, lying 1000km apart. Their national territory extends over a total area of 2,201,490sq.km/1,364,923sq.mi, but their land area is no more than 240sq.km/150sq.mi. Lagoons within the islands cover 566sq.km/350sq.mi. The total area of the islands with their lagoons is thus only 0.04 per cent of the national territory.
Like most of the Pacific islands the Cook Islands are either purely volcanic or coral atolls on a basalt base. Five types of island can be distinguished: the high volcanic island of Rarotonga; the raised coral islands of Mangaia, Mauke, Atiu and Mitiaro, with a volcanic core and a surrounding plain of coralline limestone; Aitutaki, consisting of a central volcanic island and a surrounding barrier reef; the atolls of Manuae, Palmerston, Penrhyn, Manihiki, Rakahanga, Pukapuka and Suwarrow; Takutea and Nassau, islands of sand on a coralline limestone base.
The Cook Islands consist of a northern group of seven and a southern group of eight islands, lying 1000km apart. Their national territory extends over a total area of 2,201,490sq.km/1,364,923sq.mi, but their land area is no more than 240sq.km/150sq.mi. Lagoons within the islands cover 566sq.km/350sq.mi. The total area of the islands with their lagoons is thus only 0.04 per cent of the national territory.
Like most of the Pacific islands the Cook Islands are either purely volcanic or coral atolls on a basalt base. Five types of island can be distinguished: the high volcanic island of Rarotonga; the raised coral islands of Mangaia, Mauke, Atiu and Mitiaro, with a volcanic core and a surrounding plain of coralline limestone; Aitutaki, consisting of a central volcanic island and a surrounding barrier reef; the atolls of Manuae, Palmerston, Penrhyn, Manihiki, Rakahanga, Pukapuka and Suwarrow; Takutea and Nassau, islands of sand on a coralline limestone base.
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Address:
Cook Islands Tourism, Box 14, Rarotonga, Cook Islands , Cook Islands
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White sand beach in the Cook Islands.
Typical beach scene in the Cook Islands.
Landscape of the Cook Islands.
Lagoon scene in the Cook Islands.
