The

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in th ...

are the island group farthest from any continent in the world, lying between south of the equator and approximately northeast of

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

. A pair of volcanic archipelagoes, they fall naturally into two geographical divisions, The northwestern group consists of Eïao,

Hatutu Hatutu (also called Hatuta‘a) is a small island approximately 3 km (2 mi.) northeast of Eiao in the northern Marquesas Islands. Hatutu is administratively part of the commune (municipality) of Nuku-Hiva, itself in the administrative ...

(Hatutaa), Motu One, and the islands centered on the large island of

Nuku Hiva Nuku Hiva (sometimes spelled Nukahiva or Nukuhiva) is the largest of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas country of France in the Pacific Ocean. It was formerly also known as ''Île Marchand'' and ''Madison Island''. Herman M ...

: Motu Iti (Hatu Iti),

Ua Pou Ua Pou (french: Ua Pou, North Marquesan: ''’uapou'') is the third largest of the Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. History Pre-European history Ua Pou is the only major island tha ...

Motu Oa Motu Oa ("Long Rock") is a small island, southeast of Ua Pou, in the northern Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. It is 1100 meters long and up to 460 meters wide at its northern end. Its area is approximately 30 hectares, making it the large ...

and

Ua Huka Ua Huka is one of the Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It is situated in the northern group of the archipelago, approximately to the east of Nuku Hiva, at . Name Ua Huka is sometimes ...

. The southeastern group consists of Fatu Uku,

Tahuata Tahuata is the smallest of the inhabited Marquesas Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It is located 4 km (2.5 mi.) to the south of the western end of Hiva Oa, across the Canal du Bordelai ...

Moho Tani Mohotani (sometimes spelt ''Moho Tani''; also called ''Molopu'' or ''Motane'') is an uninhabited island southeast of Hiva Oa and east of Tahuata in the southern Marquesas Islands. It has an area of 15 km2. Much of the island's sparse vegetat ...

(Motane),

Terihi Terihi is a small, uninhabited, rocky island in the Marquesas Islands, less than southeast from Mohotani. It has an area of and a coastline of . In 1992, the island became officially protected by its inclusion in the Motane Nature Reserve. S ...

Fatu Hiva Fatu-Hiva (the "H" is not pronounced, see name section below) is the southernmost island of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. With Motu Nao as its closest neighbor, it is also the m ...

and

Motu Nao Motu Nao is the Marquesan name for a small rock island in the southeastern Marquesas Islands, approximately northeast of Fatu Hiva. The French name for the island is ''Rocher Thomasset'', which in English is ''Thomasset Rock''. At low tide, th ...

(Thomasset Rock), clustered around the main island of Hiva `Oa which is the largest and most populous island of the southeastern group. With a combined land area of , the Marquesas are among the largest island groups of

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

, Nuku Hiva being the second largest island in the entire territory, after Tahiti. With the exception of Motu One, all the islands of the Marquesas are of volcanic origin. The Marquesas are one of the few island groups in Polynesia where precipitation is not abundant. Most of the islands are subject to frequent drought conditions due to their geographic location and periodic fluctuations in the normally prevailing easterly winds. Although the islands lie within the tropics, they are the first major break in the prevailing easterly winds spawned from the extraordinarily dry (from an atmospheric perspective)

Humboldt Current The Humboldt Current, also called the Peru Current, is a cold, low- salinity ocean current that flows north along the western coast of South America.Montecino, Vivian, and Carina B. Lange. "The Humboldt Current System: Ecosystem components and pr ...

. The annual rainfall is generally around , but this average is misleading because of very high variability. In La Niña years, rainfall can decline to less than , whilst in

El Niño El Niño (; ; ) is the warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (approximately between the International Date L ...

years when the ocean warms it can reach . Unlike the rest of French Polynesia, most rain falls during the cooler months, with May to July usually the wettest and November the driest. Because of their exceptionally variable climate, the islands are subject to extreme drought and flood conditions. Although they are mostly high and craggy with jagged peaks rising to in places, only two of the ten islands have elevations above about and these are the only ones that have sufficiently reliable precipitation for the development of rainforests. This has led to historical fluctuations in water supply, which has been a crucial factor in the sustainability of human populations in certain sections of the various islands throughout the archipelago. This is especially evident in the low historical population of Ua Huka (maximum elevation 2,812 ft.) and the intermittent inhabitability of Eiao (maximum elevation 1,890 ft.). The islands lack both coastal plains and coral reefs. As a result habitation is generally found only where streams run down from the mountains in narrow valleys. Agricultural products include

copra Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from copr ...

taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...

breadfruit Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family (Moraceae) believed to be a domesticated descendant of ''Artocarpus camansi'' originating in New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Philippi ...

coffee bean A coffee bean is a seed of the ''Coffea'' plant and the source for coffee. It is the pip inside the red or purple fruit often referred to as a coffee cherry. Just like ordinary cherries, the coffee fruit is also a so-called stone fruit. Even thou ...

s and

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the p ...

. The islands have also developed a tourist industry. The Marquesas Islands are thought to have formed from a center of upwelling

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...

called the

Marquesas hotspot The Marquesas hotspot is a volcanic hotspot in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is responsible for the creation of the Marquesas Islands – a group of eight main islands and several smaller ones – and a few seamounts. The islands and seamounts fo ...

References

{{Oceania in topic, Geography of

See also

References