Editing Marquesas Islands (section)

==Geography==
{{main|Geography of the Marquesas Islands}}
{{Location map
 |Pacific Ocean
 |label=Marquesas
 |lon_dir=W
 |lat_dir=S
 |lat_deg=9|lat_min=27
 |lon_deg=139|lon_min=23
 |position=right
 |width=thumb
 |float=right
 |mark=Cercle rouge 100%.svg
 |marksize=20
 |caption=Location of the Marquesas Islands in the Pacific Ocean
}}
[[File:HivaOa BaieDesTraitres 20061110.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Hiva Oa]]]]
The Marquesas Islands group is one of the most remote in the world. It lies about {{Convert|1370|km|mi}} northeast of [[Tahiti]] and about {{Convert|4800|km|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]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Desonie|first1=D. L.|last2=Duncan|first2=R. A.|last3=Natland|first3=J. H.|date=1993-10-10|title=Temporal and geochemical variability of volcanic products of the Marquesas Hotspot|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth|language=en|volume=98|issue=B10|pages=17649–17665|doi=10.1029/93JB01562|bibcode=1993JGR....9817649D|issn=2156-2202}}</ref> The islands in the group fall naturally into two geographical divisions. One is the northern group, consisting of [[Eiao]], [[Hatutu]] ([[Hatutaa]]), [[Motu One (Marquesas Islands)|Motu One]], and the islands surrounding the large island of [[Nuku Hiva]]: [[Motu Iti (Marquesas Islands)|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 Oa|Hiva {{okina}}Oa]].

The Marquesas are among the largest island groups in French Polynesia. Their combined land area is {{convert|1049|km2}}.  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 {{Convert|750|m|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 {{Convert|857|m|ft}}) has a history of low population levels, and Eiao Island (maximum elevation {{Convert|576|m|ft}}) has been intermittently uninhabited.

===Islands of the Marquesas===
{{see also|List of Marquesas Islands}}

====Northern Marquesas====
[[File:marquises 9631a.jpg|thumb|upright|Hakaui waterfall, on [[Nuku Hiva]] island.]]
* [[Eiao]]
* [[Hatutu]]
* [[Motu Iti (Marquesas Islands)|Motu Iti]]
* [[Motu Oa]]
* [[Motu One (Marquesas Islands)|Motu One]]
* [[Nuku Hiva]]
* [[Ua Huka]]
* [[Ua Pou]]

====Southern Marquesas====
* [[Fatu Hiva]]
* [[Fatu Huku]]
* [[Hiva Oa|Hiva {{okina}}Oa]]
* [[Moho Tani]]
* [[Motu Nao]]
* [[Tahuata]]
* [[Terihi]]

====Seamounts====
There are also a number of [[seamount]]s or shoals, located primarily in the area of the northern Marquesas. Among these are:
* [[Clark Bank]]
* [[Hinakura Bank]]
* [[Lawson Bank]]
* [[Bank Jean Goguel]]

===Geology===
[[File:Hatiheu Bay, Nuku Hiva (French Polynesia).jpg|thumb|left|[[Basalt]]ic rock formation in [[Hatihe'u|Hatiheu]], [[Nuku Hiva]] island.]]

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 [[Andean Volcanic Belt#Volcanic gaps|Inca Plateau]], which is [[subduction|subducting]] under northern [[Peru]].<ref>[http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/360/ The "lost Inca Plateau": cause of flat subduction beneath Peru?] {{webarchive|url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20100703234939/http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/360/ |date=3 July 2010 }}, 1999</ref>

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 (Marquesas Islands)|Motu One]] are [[volcanic island]]s. 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.<ref name="tp">{{cite news |title=Papeete measures 5 small waves during tsunami red alert |url=http://en.tahitipresse.pf/print.cfm?presse=28105 |work=[[Tahitipresse]] |date=29 September 2009 |access-date=2009-09-30 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20091003145955/http://en.tahitipresse.pf/print.cfm?presse=28105 |archive-date=3 October 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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-cave]]s 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===
[[File:Rainforest Fatu Hiva.jpg|thumb|[[Breadfruit]] tree on [[Fatu-Hiva]].]]
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 {{convert|2,500|mm|in}} annually; much lower in the western (leeward) areas. Average annual precipitation in the "desert" region of Nuku Hiva is only {{convert|510|mm|in}}. Droughts are frequent, sometimes lasting several years, and seem to be associated with the {{lang|es|[[El Niño]]}} phenomenon.<ref>Addison, David J. "Traditional Agriculture of the Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia)" ''Rapa Nui Journal'' 21.2 (2007): 111–27.</ref> The typical variability of the sea-level climate in the Marquesas is well illustrated by measurements made at the [[Atuona]] weather station on Hiva {{okina}}Oa: The highest recorded annual rainfall there is {{convert|3760|mm|in}}; the lowest is {{convert|560|mm|in}}.<ref>Florence, Jacques and Lorence, David H. "Introduction to the Flora and Vegetation of the Marquesas Islands" ''Allertonia'', Vol. 7, No. 4, p. 223</ref>

{{Weather box
|location = Atuona, Hiva {{okina}}Oa
|single line = Yes
|metric first = Yes
|Jan mean F = 81
|Feb mean F = 81
|Mar mean F = 82
|Apr mean F = 82
|May mean F = 80
|Jun mean F = 79
|Jul mean F = 78
|Aug mean F = 78
|Sep mean F = 79
|Oct mean F = 79
|Nov mean F = 80
|Dec mean F = 81
|year mean F = 80
|Jan high F = 86
|Feb high F = 87
|Mar high F = 87
|Apr high F = 87
|May high F = 85
|Jun high F = 84
|Jul high F = 83
|Aug high F =83
|Sep high F = 84
|Oct high F = 85
|Nov high F =86
|Dec high F = 86
|year high F = 85
|Jan low F = 74
|Feb low F = 75
|Mar low F = 76
|Apr low F = 76
|May low F = 75
|Jun low F = 74
|Jul low F = 74
|Aug low F = 73
|Sep low F = 73
|Oct low F = 73
|Nov low F = 74
|Dec low F = 74
|year low F = 74
|Jan precipitation inch = 4.5
|Feb precipitation inch =3.6
|Mar precipitation inch = 5.4
|Apr precipitation inch = 4.6
|May precipitation inch = 4.8
|Jun precipitation inch = 6.9
|Jul precipitation inch = 4.8
|Aug precipitation inch = 4
|Sep precipitation inch = 3.2
|Oct precipitation inch = 3.1
|Nov precipitation inch = 2.6
|Dec precipitation inch = 3.5
|year precipitation inch = 50.9
|source 1 = Weatherbase<ref name="Weatherbase">{{cite web |url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=52919&refer=wikipedia |title=Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Atuona, French Polynesia |publisher=Weatherbase |year=2011 |access-date=24 November 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207001350/http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=52919&refer=wikipedia |archive-date=7 December 2013 }}</ref>
|date=November 2011
}}

{{wide image|Hiva Oa - Vue vers le sud-est - 20061110.jpg|600px| A view of [[Hiva Oa]], towards the south-west, with [[Moho Tani]] island visible in the distance.}}