The Marquesas group of islands is the most northerly territory of French Polynesia and consists of six large and six small islands. All are elevated and covered with a layer of deep, fertile soil. These islands, mountainous and cut into deep valleys, are not protected by coral barrier reefs.

Half the islands in the group are uninhabited. The principal inhabited islands of the Marquesas group (Nuku Hiva, Ua Huka, Ua Poa, Hiva Oa, Tahuata, and Fatu Hiva) now support a population of just over 6800. At one time in the eighteenth century, the population was estimated by European visitors to number 60,000. Disease and drought obliterated the once thriving communities, the remains of which can be seen throughout the Marquesas islands.