Cook Strait at a glance
- 163 maverage depth
- 124 mmedian depth
- 1,165 mmaximum depth
- 5,325 km²water area
Cook Strait is a strait. Inside its outline the GEBCO grid has about 5,325 km² of water, with an average depth of about 163 m (the middle value is 124 m) and a maximum of 1,165 m, found at 41.65° S, 174.93° E.
Open the map at the deepest cell and tap to read the depth.
How deep is each part of the Cook Strait?
The bar splits the Cook Strait's water by depth. Each colour is a depth band, and the shares add up to 100%.
- 0 to 200 m: 77.7%
- 200 to 1,000 m: 22.2%
- 1,000 to 4,000 m: 0.1%
- 4,000 to 6,000 m: 0%
- below 6,000 m: 0%
Named features near the deepest point: Cook Strait Canyon (3 km), Palliser Canyon (20 km), Wairarapa Canyon (20 km), Nicholson Canyon (23 km).
The Cook Strait if sea level dropped
The slider on the map lowers the sea in steps. This table shows how much of the Cook Strait's water would be land at each step.
| Sea level lowered by | Becomes land | Share of its water |
|---|---|---|
| 10 m | 70 km² | 1.3% |
| 20 m | 307 km² | 5.8% |
| 50 m | 1,047 km² | 19.7% |
| 80 m | 1,712 km² | 32.1% |
| 120 m | 2,570 km² | 48.3% |
| 200 m | 4,135 km² | 77.6% |
| 500 m | 5,055 km² | 94.9% |
| 1,000 m | 5,317 km² | 99.9% |
| 2,000 m | 5,325 km² | 100% |
| 3,000 m | 5,325 km² | 100% |
| 4,000 m | 5,325 km² | 100% |
| 6,000 m | 5,325 km² | 100% |
A simple bathtub model: it lowers the sea everywhere by the same amount and does not simulate how water would really drain.
Nearby seas
- Tasman Sea average depth about 3,360 m
- Coral Sea average depth about 2,553 m
- Great Australian Bight average depth about 3,184 m
- Ross Sea average depth about 2,026 m
- Solomon Sea average depth about 2,825 m
- Gulf of Carpentaria average depth about 41 m
Nearest by the centre of each outline. All oceans and seas
Frequently asked questions
How deep is the Cook Strait?
On average about 163 m in the GEBCO grid (the middle value is 124 m). The deepest cell inside its outline is 1,165 m, at 41.65° S, 174.93° E.
How big is the Cook Strait?
About 5,325 km² of water inside its Natural Earth outline, counted from the grid cells that are below sea level.
How much of the Cook Strait would be land if sea level dropped?
With the sea 10 m lower, about 70 km² (1.3%) of its water would be land. At 6,000 m lower, 100% would be. This is a simple bathtub model that lowers the sea evenly everywhere.
Data: depths from the GEBCO_2026 grid, statistics worked out inside the Natural Earth outline of the strait. See data sources and licences. The GEBCO Grid should NOT be used for navigation or for any other purpose involving safety at sea.