Geography of the Marquesas Islands

The Marquesas Islands are the island group farthest from any continent in the world, lying between 400 and 600 miles (600 and 1,000 km) south of the equator and approximately 740 miles (1,200 km) northeast of Tahiti. A pair of volcanic archipelagoes, they fall naturally into two geographical divisions, The northwestern group consists of Eïao, Hatutu (Hatutaa), Motu One, and the islands centered on the large island of Nuku Hiva: Motu Iti (Hatu Iti), Ua Pou, Motu Oa and Ua Huka. The southeastern group consists of Fatu Uku, Tahuata, Moho Tani (Motane), Terihi, Fatu Hiva and Motu Nao (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 405 square miles (1,050 km2), the Marquesas are among the largest island groups of French Polynesia, 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 annual rainfall is generally around 1,270 millimetres (50 inches), but this average is misleading because of very high variability. In La Niña years, rainfall can decline to less than 500 millimetres (20 inches), whilst in El Niño years when the ocean warms it can reach 2,800 millimetres (110 inches).