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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 10,898 of a total population of 15,040. The Parliament of the Cook Islands, Cook Islands' Parliament buildings and Rarotonga International Airport, international airport are on Rarotonga. Rarotonga is a 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 (missionary), 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 from the seafloor. The island was formed between 2.3 to 1.6 million ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rarotonga Hotspot
The Rarotonga hotspot is a volcanic hotspot in the southern Pacific Ocean. The hotspot is claimed to be responsible for the formation of Rarotonga and some volcanics of Aitutaki but an alternative explanation for these islands most recent volcanics has not been ruled out. Recently alternatives to hotspot activity have been offered for several other intra-plate volcanoes that may have been associated with the Rarotonga hotspot hypothesis. 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 hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its capital. The Cook Islands is self-governing while in free association with New Zealand. Since the start of the 21st century, the Cook Islands conducts its own independent foreign and defence policy, and also has its own customs regulations. Like most members of the Pacific Islands Forum, it has no armed forces, but the Cook Islands Police Service owns a Guardian Class Patrol Boat, , provided by Australia, in order to police its waters. In recent decades, the Cook Islands have adopted an increasingly assertive and distinct foreign policy, and a Cook Islander, Henry Puna, served as Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum from 2021 to 2024. Most Cook Islanders are also citizens of New Zealand, but they also have the status of Coo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rarotonga Monarch
The Rarotonga monarch (''Pomarea dimidiata''), also known as the Rarotonga flycatcher or Kākerōri, is a species of bird in the monarch flycatcher family Monarchidae. It is Endemism, endemic to Rarotonga, Rarotonga, Cook Islands, and has been Introduced species, introduced to Atiu, Atiu, Cook Islands. Taxonomy and systematics The Rarotonga monarch was originally described in the genus ''Monarcha''. Alternate names include Cook Island flycatcher, Cook Islands monarch, Kakerori, and Rarotonga monarch-flycatcher. Description The Rarotonga monarch is an insectivorous passerine which is 10 cm tall, with an adult mass of for female birds, and for large male birds. Hunting mainly consists of foraging for insects within foliage, and occasionally taking insects during flight. The Rarotonga monarch is unusual as its plumage and beak undergoes a sequential colour change the bird matures. The initial plumage of orange changes to orange-grey mixed, then finally grey when maturity i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rarotonga International Airport
Rarotonga International Airport () 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 Corporation operated fortnightly flights t ... [...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 city, 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: # 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: ## Areanu, ## Kaikaveka, ## Atupa, ## Avatiu (commercial port), and ## Ruatonga; # Tutakimoa-Teotue (314 inhabitants), covering the tapere o ... [...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] |
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 i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Motutapu (Cook Islands)
Motutapu is a small island east of Rarotonga, within the Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ... archipelago. It is situated within the Ngatanglia Harbour about off the main island. Etymology The name "Motutapu" means "Sacred island" in several Polynesian languages.''Vaka Moana – Voyages of the Ancestors'' – Howe, K.R. (Editor), Page 33 References Islands of the Cook Islands {{CookIslands-geo-stub ... [...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 archipelago. 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 ... [...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 or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease .... References External linksBirdLife Species Factsheet Rarotonga starling Birds of the Coo ... [...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 a family history centre and a branch of the Cook Islands Trading Company. The settlement's sports ground 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 and is the location of Rarotonga's main port. Notable buildings include a Mormon church and a family history centre and a .... References Populated places in the Cook Islands Rarotonga {{CookIslands-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Te Manga
Te Manga, is the highest point on Rarotonga with an elevation of above sea level. The island is part of the Cook Islands, a self-governing parliamentary democracy in Associated State, free association with New Zealand. See also * Geography of the Cook Islands External links *Te Manga, Rarotonga Tramping New Zealand. Rarotonga Landforms of the Cook Islands, Te Manga Mountains of Oceania {{CookIslands-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
