Cocos (Keeling) Islands Geography - 2004

Location:
Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka

Geographic coordinates:
12 30 S, 96 50 E

Map references:
Southeast Asia

Area:
total: 14 sq km
note: includes the two main islands of West Island and Home Island
water: 0 sq km
land: 14 sq km

Area - comparative:
about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
26 km

Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM

Climate:
tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year

Terrain:
flat, low-lying coral atolls

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m

Natural resources:
fish

Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:
NA sq km

Natural hazards:
cyclone season is October to April

Environment - current issues:
fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs