Cocos Islands
Cocos Islands, Keeling Islands, Australian island group in the Indian Ocean, located about 3,700 km west of Darwin on the north coast of Australia; 14 km2, 590 residents (2015). Cocos Islands is made up of two coral atolls. One consists of several small islands, the South Keeling Islands, the other of only one island, North Keeling Island. In the South Keeling Islands atoll are the most significant islands West Island, Home Direction and Horseburgh. The islands are extremely low-lying, and the climate is tropical warm and rainy (22–32 °C, 2,300 mm/year). The vegetation is mainly coconut trees.
The residents are of Malay descent. They were taken there to work on the coconut plantations during the 19th century. Many islanders have emigrated to Australia in recent decades. In 1955, Cocos Islands became Australian, and since 1984 they form part of Australia. Cocos Islands is known for its weather station.
