Cook Islands
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
48.6km²
Area
27km
Coastline
139m
Highest point
654
People
27°C
Warmest sea
March
5,051km
To the mainland
When to go to Mangaia
Best for the beach from June to October.
The sea is warmest in March (27 °C) and coolest in September (24 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island of the Southern Cook Islands
Mangaia is an island in Cook Islands. It covers 48.6 km², with 27 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 139 m. About 654 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 5,051 km away.
Getting there
- Rarotonga International Airport (RAR)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 210 km in a straight line
- Ferries1 ferry terminals on the island
- 5,051 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From June to Octoberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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On the island
What you find on Mangaia.
- 3beachesAraoa beach
- 1viewpointsSaragossa Shipwreck
- 1ferry terminalsAvarua
- 1named peaksRangimotia
- 3hotels, guesthouses and apartments
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Mangaia in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Mangaia, each with its own numbers.
3mountainsPeakyas
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 61 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 46 %0–50 m
- 54 %50–200 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
5 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 26 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 26 |
| Night low (°C) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| Sea (°C) | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| Rain (mm) | 170 | 184 | 181 | 146 | 123 | 65 | 86 | 66 | 86 | 83 | 135 | 170 |
| Wet days | 18 | 19 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 17 |
| Sun h/day | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.4 | 6.9 | 6.1 | 6.2 | 6.4 | 7.0 | 7.6 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 7.7 |
| Wind (km/h) | 23 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 24 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.9 | −0.2 | −0.2 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.1 | +1.5 |
| 2021 | +1.4 | +1.6 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.4 | −0.1 | +0.2 |
| 2022 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +1.7 | +1.3 | +0.9 | +0.4 | +0.8 | ±0.0 | −0.8 | −0.2 |
| 2023 | −0.2 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.6 | −0.2 | −0.2 | −1.1 | −1.6 |
| 2024 | −0.7 | ±0.0 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.3 | −0.3 | −1.2 | −0.9 |
| 2025 | +0.2 | +1.0 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | −0.5 | +0.1 | +0.9 | +0.5 | −0.4 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q1359323) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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