Islands of the Cook Islands

Rarotonga (sometimes abbreviated Raro) is the largest and most populous island of the country of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to 72% of the country's population, with 10,898 of a total population of 15,040. Avarua, on the north coast, is the location of the Parliament buildings and the capital of the Cook Islands. The country's international airport is also in Avarua, and Rarotonga is a popular tourist destination, with many resorts, hotels and motels.

Mangaia (traditionally known as A'ua'u Enua, which means "terraced island") is the most southerly of the Cook Islands and the second largest, after Rarotonga. It is a roughly circular island, with an area of , from Rarotonga. Originally heavily populated, Mangaia's population has dropped by 75% in the last 50 years, mainly due to the decline of the pineapple industry in the 1980s and a subsequent economic crisis in 1996.

Ātiu, also known as ʻEnuamanu (meaning land of the birds), is an island of the Cook Islands archipelago, lying in the central-southern Pacific Ocean. Part of the Nga-pu-Toru, it is northeast of Rarotonga. The population of the island has dropped by two-thirds in the last 50 years.

thumb|upright=1.333|Traditional subdivision in districts and tapere Mauke ('''Ma'uke also Akatokamanava''') is an island of the Cook Islands archipelago, lying in the central-southern Pacific Ocean. Part of the Nga-pu-Toru, it is northeast of Rarotonga.

Mitiʻāro, the fourth island in the Cook Islands group, is of volcanic origin. Standing in water deep it is across at its widest point.

thumb|200px|Map of Cook Islands with Suwarrow near the middle

island of the Cook Islands

chains of atolls in the South Pacific Ocean

Tuanaki or Tuanahe is the name of an anecdotal vanished group of islets, once part of the Cook Islands. It was located south of Rarotonga and within two days sail of Mangaia.

Ngaputoru () is the generic name give to the islands of Atiu, Mauke, Mitiaro and Takutea in the Cook Islands archipelago. In the Cook Islands Māori language, the term means "the (nga) roots (pu) three (toru)", or in English "the three roots". Ngaputoru, which is a term used locally, refers to family ties of the ariki (chiefs) of Atiu, Mauke and Mitiaro. The island of Takutea is uninhabited. These islands are in the easternmost part of the Southern Cook Islands.