one of the northern Cook Islands, a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean. First seen (1595) by the Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña, it was ‘‘rediscovered'' (1765) by John Byron (Byron, John), an English navigator, who called it Isle of Danger because the high surf and dangerous rocks prevented him from landing. A coral formation, it comprises three motu, or islets—Pukapuka, Motu Kavata, and Motu Koe. The elevation is unusually high for an atoll, rising to 100 feet (30 metres) at one place. Annexed by Britain in 1892, the atoll has a hospital and school and exports copra. Area (land only) 0.5 square mile (1.3 square km). Pop. (2006 prelim.) 507.