Rarotonga – The Cook Islands
Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of 67.39 km2, and is home to almost 75% of the country population, with 13,007 of a total community of 17, 434. The Cook Islands Parliament buildings and global airport are on Rarotonga. Rarotonga is a very popular tourist-stopping place with many resorts, hotels, and motels. The chief town, Avarua, on the north coast, is the capital of the Cook Islands. The hills are surrounded by a low coastal plain comprising of beaches, a storm ridge, lowland swamps, and alluvial deposits. This in turn is surrounded by a fringing reef, which ranges from 30 to 900 meters wide
Captain John Dibbs, master of the colonial brig Endeavour, is credited as the European discoverer on 25 July 1823, while transporting the converter Reverend John Williams.