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Rarotonga
Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings and international airport are on Rarotonga. Rarotonga is a very popular tourist destination with many resorts, hotels and motels. The chief town, Avarua, on the north coast, is the capital of the Cook Islands. Captain John Dibbs, master of the colonial brig ''Endeavour'', is credited as the European discoverer on 25 July 1823, while transporting the missionary Reverend John Williams. Geography Rarotonga is a kidney-shaped volcanic island, in circumference, and wide on its longest (east-west) axis. The island is the summit of an extinct Pliocene or Pleistocene volcano, which rises 5000 meters from the seafloor. The island was formed between 2.3 to 1.6 million years ago, with a later stage of volcanism between 1.4 and 1.1 million yea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rarotonga Hotspot
The Rarotonga hotspot is a volcanic hotspot in the southern Pacific Ocean. The hotspot was responsible for the formation of Rarotonga and some volcanics of Aitutaki. In addition to these volcanoes in the Cook Islands, the composition of volcanic rocks in Samoa and in the Lau Basin may have been influenced by the Rarotonga hotspot, and some atolls and seamounts in the Marshall Islands may have formed on the hotspot as well. Geology Oceanic plateaus and linear volcanic chains dot the floor of the Pacific Ocean. Their formation has been explained with mantle plumes which rise from the core-mantle boundary and spread out when they rise, forming a large "head" that causes intense volcanic activity once it hits the crust. This volcanism is responsible for the formation of the oceanic plateaus. Later, the remnant "tail" of the plume is still rising and induces the formation of volcano chains as the crust moves over the plume tail, thus forming the linear chains. A number of hotspot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cook Islands
) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , languages_type = Spoken languages , languages = , ethnic_groups = , ethnic_groups_year = 2016 census , demonym = Cook Islander , government_type = , leader_title1 = Monarch , leader_name1 = , leader_title2 = 's Representative , leader_name2 = Sir Tom Marsters , leader_title3 = Prime Minister , leader_name3 = Mark Brown , leader_title4 = President of the House of Ariki , leader_name4 = Tou Travel Ariki , legislature = Parliament , sovereignty_type = Associated state of New Zealand , established_event1 = Self-governance , established_date1 = 4 August 1965 , es ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rarotonga International Airport
Rarotonga International Airport ( rar, Papa Rererangi o Rarotonga) is the Cook Islands' main international gateway, located in the town and district of Avarua, Rarotonga, west of the downtown area on the northern coast. Originally built in 1944, the airport was expanded in the early 1970s, and officially opened for jets in January 1974. Because of the proximity of the runways to the nearby roads, it is possible to get very close to the aircraft while they are departing and landing. In July 2015, three tourists were injured by jet blast after being blown over while watching an Air New Zealand Boeing 777 take off. Consequently, in 2016, the Cook Islands Tourism Corporation warned tourist operators that they should not promote the jet blast area as a tourist attraction. History An unsealed airstrip at Nikao was originally constructed by the New Zealand Department of Public Works in 1944, with the first flight landing in November 1945. The New Zealand National Airways Corporati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rarotonga Monarch
The Rarotonga monarch (''Pomarea dimidiata''), also known as the Rarotonga flycatcher or ''kakerori'', is a species of bird in the monarch flycatcher family Monarchidae. It is endemic to the Cook Islands. Taxonomy and systematics The Rarotonga monarch was originally described in the genus ''Monarcha''. Alternate names include Cook Island flycatcher, Cook Islands monarch, and Rarotonga monarch-flycatcher. Description The Rarotonga monarch is a most unusual bird in a number of ways, including being the only bird known to undergo sequential changes in plumage as it grows. The initial plumage of orange to orange-grey changes to pure grey when maturity is reached after four years. Behaviour and ecology Owing to its tropical oceanic island location, the Rarotonga monarch is exceptionally long-lived for a bird with a mass of only , having an adult survival of between 85 and 89 percent, a life expectancy of seven to nine years, and a maximum lifespan of around 24 years. These figures ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muri Lagoon
The Muri Lagoon is a lagoon in the district of Ngatangiia on the eastern coast of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. The lagoon is a significant tourist attraction and the largest tourism revenue earner in the Cook Islands, accounting for 25% of tourism bed usage on Rarotonga. In 2015 the Cook Islands government declared the environmental condition of the lagoon a national disaster. Geography The lagoon is approximately wide has a maximum depth of . It is bounded on the north by Ngatangiia harbour, and the south by the ''motu'' of Taakoka. It contains three small islets or ''motu''. From north to south, the islets are: #Motutapu, #Oneroa, #Koromiri, The islet of Taakoka () forms the southern boundary of lagoon. The Avana and Turangi streams both flow into the lagoon. Water circulation is driven by waves breaking across the reef, with outflow through the Ngatangiia Harbour. Pollution The lagoon is heavily polluted, with nitrogen from agricultural runoff and leaking septic tanks ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avarua
Avarua (meaning "Two Harbours" in Cook Islands Māori) is a town and district in the north of the island of Rarotonga, and is the national capital of the Cook Islands. The town is served by Rarotonga International Airport ( IATA Airport Code: RAR) and Avatiu Harbour. The population of Avarua District is 4,906 (census of 2016). Sub-districts The district of Avarua is subdivided into 19 tapere (traditional sub-districts) out of 54 for Rarotonga, grouped into 6 Census Districts, listed from west to east. Census figures are not available on the tapere level, but only for the so-called Census Districts, also listed from west to east:P.H. Curson: "Population Change in the Cook Islands - The 1966 Population Census". In: ''New Zealand Geographer'', Vol. 28, 1972, pp. 51-65, map p.52 # Nikao-Panama (1,373 inhabitants), covering the taperes of: ## Pokoinu, ## Nikao (seat of Cook Islands parliament), and ## Puapuautu; # Avatiu-Ruatonga (951 inhabitants), covering the taperes of: # ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aitutaki
Aitutaki, also traditionally known as Araura and Utataki, is the second most-populated island in the Cook Islands, after Rarotonga. It is an "almost atoll", with fifteen islets in a lagoon adjacent to the main island. Total land area is , and the lagoon has an area of between . A major tourist destination, Aitutaki is the second most visited island of the Cook Islands. Aitutaki had a population of 1,712 in 2016. The main village is Arutanga (Arutunga) on the west side. Geography Aitutaki is sometimes described as an "almost atoll", for it consists of a lagoon within an encircling atoll, with a significant area of high land on one side. It has a maximum elevation of approximately with the hill known as Maunga Pu close to its northernmost point. The land area of the atoll is , of which the main island occupies . The Ootu Peninsula, protruding east from the main island in a southerly direction along the eastern rim of the reef, takes up out of the main island. For the lagoon, ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macdonald Hotspot
The Macdonald hotspot (also known as "Tubuai" or "Old Rurutu") is a volcanic hotspot in the southern Pacific Ocean. The hotspot was responsible for the formation of the Macdonald Seamount, and possibly the Austral-Cook Islands chain. It probably did not generate all of the volcanism in the Austral and Cook Islands as age data imply that several additional hotspots were needed to generate some volcanoes. In addition to the volcanoes in the Austral Islands and Cook Islands, Tokelau, the Gilbert Islands, the Phoenix Islands and several of the Marshall Islands as well as several seamounts in the Marshall Islands may have been formed by the Macdonald hotspot. Geology Regional geology Hotspots have been explained either by mantle plumes producing magma in the crust, reactivation of old lithospheric structures such as fractures or spreading of the crust through tectonic tension. Aside from Macdonald seamount, active volcanoes which are considered hotspots in the Pacific Ocean inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rarotonga Starling
The Rarotonga starling (''Aplonis cinerascens'') is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is endemic to the Cook Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby .... References External linksBirdLife Species Factsheet Rarotonga starling [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avatiu
Avatiu is a settlement on Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. It is located on the north coast to the west of the capital Avarua and is the location of Rarotonga's main port. Notable buildings include a Mormon church and family history centre, and a branch of the Cook Islands Trading Company. The town's sportsground is known as "The Swamp" after the adjacent Avatiu Swamp Avatiu is a settlement on Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. It is located on the north coast to the west of the capital Avarua Avarua (meaning "Two Harbours" in Cook Islands Māori) is a town and district in the north of the island of Rarotonga, .... References Populated places in the Cook Islands Rarotonga {{CookIslands-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Te Manga
Te Manga, on Rarotonga, is the highest point of the Cook Islands, a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand, with an elevation of 652 meters (2,139 ft) above sea level. See also * Geography of the Cook Islands External links *Te Manga, Rarotonga Tramping New Zealand. Rarotonga Te Manga Te Manga, on Rarotonga, is the highest point of the Cook Islands, a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It cons ... Mountains of Oceania {{CookIslands-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Williams (missionary)
John Williams (29 June 1796 – 20 November 1839) was an English missionary, active in the South Pacific. Early life He was born in Tottenham, near London, to Welsh parents. In 1810 the family moved to north London and there he served as a clerk to an iron foundry. He also took some interest in smithing. There his employer's wife first took him to church and he was immediately drawn to this, and the pastor, Rev Nathan Wilks, enrolled him in a class to prepare for the ministry. However, his heart quickly became set on missionary work. In September 1816, the London Missionary Society (LMS) commissioned him as a missionary in a service held at Surrey Chapel, London. South Pacific missionary On 17 November 1816, John Williams and his wife, Mary Chawner Williams, set sail from London to voyage to the Society Islands, a group of islands that included Tahiti, accompanied by William Ellis and his wife. Travelling via Sydney in Australia they initially only reached as far as E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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