The Marquesas Islands ( mar-KAY-səss; French: Îles Marquises or Archipel des Marquises or Marquises [maʁkiz]; Marquesan: Te Henua ʻEnana (North Marquesan) and Te Fenua ʻEnata (South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. Their highest point is the peak of Mount Oave (French: Mont Oave) on Ua Pou island, at 1,230 m (4,035 ft) above sea level. Archaeological research suggests the islands were settled in the 10th century AD by voyagers from West Polynesia. Over the centuries that followed, the islands have maintained a "remarkably uniform culture, biology and language". The Marquesas were named after the 16th-century Spanish Viceroy of Peru, the Marquis of Cañete (Spanish: Marqués de Cañete), by navigator Álvaro de Mendaña, who visited them in 1595. The Marquesas Islands constitute one of the five administrative divisions (subdivisions administratives) of French Polynesia. The capital of the Marquesas Islands' administrative subdivision is the town of Taioha'e, on the island of Nuku Hiva. The population of the Marquesas Islands was 9,346 inhabitants at the time of the August 2017 census.
Geography
The Marquesas Islands group is one of the most remote in the world. It lies about 1,370 kilometres (850 mi) northeast of Tahiti and about 4,800 kilometres (3,000 mi) southwest of Mexico (the nearest continental land mass). It is thought to have been formed by a centre of upwelling magma, called the Marquesas hotspot. The islands in the group fall naturally into two geographical divisions. One is the northern group, consisting of Eiao, Hatutu (Hatutaa), Motu One, and the islands surrounding the large island of Nuku Hiva: Motu Iti, also called Hatu Iti; Ua Pou; Motu Oa; and Ua Huka. The other is the southern group, consisting of Fatu Uku, Tahuata, Moho Tani (Motane), Terihi, Fatu Hiva, and Motu Nao (also called Thomasset Rock), which are clustered around the main island of Hiva ʻOa. The Marquesas are among the largest island groups in French Polynesia. Their combined land area is 1,049 square kilometres (405 sq mi). One of the islands in the group, Nuku Hiva, is 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. Although Polynesia tends to be associated with images of lush tropical vegetation, and the Marquesas lie within the tropics, they are remarkably dry. That is because they constitute the first major break for the prevailing easterly winds that arise from the (atmospherically) dry Humboldt Current. This subjects the Marquesas to frequent drought conditions. Only those islands that reach highest into the clouds (generally, higher than 750 metres (2,460 ft) above sea level) reliably have periods of precipitation. These conditions have historically led to periodic fluctuations in the availability of fresh water. Periodic lack of water has made human habitation only intermittently sustainable in certain parts of the various islands throughout the archipelago. For example, Ua Huka Island (maximum elevation 857 metres (2,812 ft)) has a history of low population levels, and Eiao Island (maximum elevation 576 metres (1,890 ft)) has been intermittently uninhabited.
Islands of the Marquesas
Northern Marquesas
Eiao Hatutu Motu Iti Motu Oa Motu One Nuku Hiva Ua Huka Ua Pou
Southern Marquesas Fatu Hiva Fatu Huku Hiva ʻOa Moho Tani Motu Nao Tahuata Terihi
Seamounts There are also a number of seamounts or shoals, located primarily in the area of the northern Marquesas. Among these are:
Clark Bank Hinakura Bank Lawson Bank Bank Jean Goguel
Geology
Most of the Marquesas Islands are of volcanic origin, created by the Marquesas hotspot that underlies the Pacific Plate. The Marquesas Islands lie above a submarine volcanic plateau of the same name. The plateau, like the islands, is generally believed to be less than 5 million years old, though one hypothesis is that the plateau (not the islands) is significantly older, and has been formed by forces similar to those that have formed the Inca Plateau, which is subducting under northern Peru. The Marquesas islands are estimated to range in age from 1.3 million years old (Fatu Hiva) to 6 million years old (Eiao). All of them except Motu One are volcanic islands. Motu One is a low island, consisting of a small sand bank on a coral reef, the only atoll in the Marquesas Islands. Unlike most French Polynesian islands, the Marquesas islands (other than Motu One) are not surrounded by protective fringing reefs. In those islands, coral is found only in bays and other protected areas, or, in the case of Fatu Huku, in an unusual place: in fossilized form at the top of the island. The South Equatorial Current lashes all these islands fiercely; its force has carved sea-caves that dot their shores. Although the islands have valleys that empty into small bays, they are remarkable for their mountain ridges, which end abruptly in cliffs at the edge of the sea.
Climate
Temperatures in the Marquesas are stable all year round. Precipitation is highly variable: greater in the northern and eastern (windward) coastal areas and mountains, averaging 2,500 mm (98 in) annually; much lower in the western (leeward) areas. Average annual precipitation in the "desert" region of Nuku Hiva is only 510 mm (20 in). Droughts are frequent, sometimes lasting several years, and seem to be associated with the El Niño phenomenon. The typical variability of the sea-level climate in the Marquesas is well illustrated by measurements made at the Atuona weather station on Hiva ʻOa: The highest recorded annual rainfall there is 3,760 mm (148 in); the lowest is 560 mm (22 in).
History
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
