Pukapuka
- ISS002-E-9915
- 18 July 2001
- 23:00 UTC
Pukapuka is located 1,300 km northwest from Rarotonga, making it the most northwesterly member of the Cook Islands. Its closest neighbours in the Northern Cook Islands are Nassau, 83 km to the southwest, and Suwarrow, 383 km to the southeast.
The small atoll consists of 3 main islands lying at each point of a narrow triangular-shaped reef and several smaller motu, with a total land area of 4.3 km². From Motu Ko — the smallest of the main islands — extends the 4.5 km long Te Alai Reef which connects the main reefs of the atoll with the small cay of Toka. The lagoon of Pukapuka measures around 8 km in length and between 3 km and 5 km in width; it contains extensive coral growth and numerous deep basins where water depths of up to 60 m are found.
image: earth sciences and image analysis laboratory, nasa johnson space center