The Marquesas Islands (French Iles Marquises) is a group of islands in French Polynesia.
With a combined area of some 807 square miles, the Marquesas are among the largest island groups of French Polynesia and were formerly a major center of east Polynesian civilization.
They lie between 400 and 600 miles south of the equator and approximately 1,000 miles northeast of Tahiti. They fall naturally into two geographical divisions: the northern group centered around the large island of Nuka Hiva and the two smaller islands of Ua Pou and Ua Huka, and the southern group of Tahuata, Moho Tani and Fatu Hiva, clustered around the main island of Hiva Oa.