Proceedings of the Pacific Regional Consultation on Water in Small Islands Countries: country briefing papers: Cook Islands; Fiji; Federated States of Micronesia; Kiribati; Nauru; Niue; Papua New Guinea; Samoa; Solomon Islands

Abstract

The Cook Islands comprises 15 islands of which 12 are inhabited. The total land area is 240 square kilometers dispersed over an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 1.8 million square kilometers in the Southern Pacific Ocean. The Cook Islands may be divided into two main geographical regions: Southern Group islands and Northern Group islands. All islands outside Rarotonga (capital of the Cook Islands) are referred to as the Outer Islands. Rarotonga and the Southern Group islands are generally younger volcanic islands, while the Northern Group is low lying coral atolls.