Editing Rarotonga (section)

== Geography ==
{{wide image|Panorama Rarotonga.jpg|900px|Rarotonga from the north}}
Rarotonga is a kidney-shaped [[volcanic island]], {{cvt|32|km}} in circumference, and {{cvt|11.2|km}} wide on its longest (east-west) axis.<ref name="Kloosterman" /> The island is the summit of an extinct [[Pliocene]] or [[Pleistocene]] volcano, which rises {{convert|5000|m|abbr=off}} from the seafloor.<ref name="ThompsonMalpasSmith2010">{{cite journal |title=Volcanic geology of Rarotonga, southern Pacific Ocean |last1=Thompson |first1=G. M. |last2=Malpas  |first2=J. |last3=Smith |first3=Ian E. M. |journal=New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics |volume=41 |issue=1 |date=1998 |page=95–104 |doi=10.1080/00288306.1998.9514793|doi-access=free }}</ref> The island was formed between 2.3 to 1.6 million years ago, with a later stage of volcanism between 1.4 and 1.1 million years ago.<ref name="ThompsonMalpasSmith2010" /> While its position is consistent with being formed by the [[Macdonald hotspot]], its age is too young, and its formation is attributed to a short-lived [[Rarotonga hotspot]],<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/246793352 |last1=Clouard |first1=Valérie |last2=Bonneville |first2=Alain |title=How many Pacific hotspots are fed by deep-mantle plumes? |journal=Geology |date=2001 |volume=29 |issue=8 |page=695–698 |doi=10.1130/0091-7613(2001)029<0695:HMPHAF>2.0.CO;2  |language=en |issn=0091-7613 |bibcode=2001Geo....29..695C }}</ref> or to rejuvenated volcanism at [[Aitutaki]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://academic.oup.com/petrology/article/61/3/egaa037/5781968 |title=Contrasting Old and Young Volcanism from Aitutaki, Cook Islands: Implications for the Origins of the Cook–Austral Volcanic Chain |last1=Jackson |first1=M G |last2=Halldórsson |first2=S A |last3=Price |first3=a |last4=Kurz |first4=M D |last5=Konter |first5=J G |last6=Koppers |first6=a A P |last7=Day |first7=J M D |journal=Journal of Petrology |volume=61 |issue=3 |date=5 March 2020 |doi=10.1093/petrology/egaa037|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The core of the island consists of densely forested hills cut by deep valleys, the eroded remnants of the original volcanic cone.<ref name="Wood1967">{{cite journal |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00288306.1967.10423227 |title=Geology of the Cook Islands |author=B. L. Wood |journal= New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics |volume=10 |issue=6 |pages=1431–1434 |date=1967 |doi=10.1080/00288306.1967.10423227 |access-date=10 July 2020|doi-access=free }}</ref> The hills are drained by a number of radial streams, including the [[Avatiu Stream]] and Takuvaine Stream.<ref name="Wood1967" /> [[Te Manga]], at 658&nbsp;m (2,140&nbsp;ft) above sea level, is the highest peak on the island. [[Ikurangi]], a smaller peak, overlooks the capital.

The hills are surrounded by a low coastal plain consisting of beaches, a storm ridge, lowland swamps, and alluvial deposits.<ref name="Richmond1990">{{cite web |url=https://pacificdata.org/data/publications/coastal-morphology-of-rarotonga-cook-islands/resource/c256331d-9051-4e13-a0e3-e62f3be59cf1 |title=CCOP/SOPAC Technical Report 65: Coastal morphology of Rarotonga, Cook Islands |last=Richmond |first=Bruce M |publisher=South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission |date=1990 |access-date=10 July 2021}}</ref>{{rp|9}} This in turn is surrounded by a [[fringing reef]], which ranges from {{convert|30| to |900|metres|abbr=off}} wide.<ref name="Richmond1990" />{{rp|30}} The reef is shallow, with a maximum depth of {{cvt|1.5|m|ft}},<ref name="Richmond1990" />{{rp|31}} and has a number of passages, notably at [[Avarua]], [[Avatiu]] and Ngatangiia. Beyond the reef crest, the outer reef slopes steeply to deep water.<ref name="Richmond1990" />{{rp|31}} 

The [[lagoon]] is at its widest off the southeast coast in the area of the [[Muri Lagoon]]. This area contains four small islets or ''motu''. From north to south, the islets are:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pacific-data.sprep.org/system/files/TR0181.pdf |title=SOPAC Technical Report 181: Bathymetry and sediments of Ngatangiia Harbour and Muri Lagoon, Rarotonga, Cook Islands |last=Collins |first=William T |publisher=South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission |date=1993 |access-date=10 July 2021}}</ref>
#[[Motutapu (Cook Islands)|Motutapu]], {{convert|10.5|ha|acre|abbr=off}}
#Oneroa, {{convert|8.1|ha|acre|abbr=off}}
#Koromiri, {{convert|2.9|ha|acre|abbr=off}}
#Taakoka, {{convert|1.3|ha|acre|abbr=off}}

Another small islet, Motutoa, lies on the reef flat on the northwest coast.<ref name="Richmond1990" />{{rp|33}}