The Cook Islands are situated in the South Pacific about midway between Tonga and Tahiti, and some 2700 km (1700 miles) NE of New Zealand, which formerly administered them. They have been independent since 1965. They extend from 8–23°S and 156–167°W. (Niue, q.v., formerly included in the administrative area, is now semi-independent.) There are 15 principal islands, embracing about 240 km2 (90 sq mi). (There is also a Cook Island in the South Sandwich Group; see Subantarctic Islands.)
There are two main chains trending NW-SE: the Northern Chain, which are atolls, emerged or near-atolls, includes Aitutaki, the Hervey Islands, Takutea, Mitiaro, and Mauke, together with scattered ones farther north; and the Southern Chain, which includes volcanic islands, atolls, and emerged atolls. Most important is the volcanic Rarotonga (principal town, Avarua) with its rich soil and central peak, Te Manga, reaching 652 m. It has a mean temperature of 23.6°C, and receives 2150 mm precipitation yearly....
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Fairbridge, R.W., Schofield, J.C. (1975). Cook islands . In: World Regional Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31081-1_38
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