Tahuata is the smallest of the inhabited Marquesas Islands. It is located 4 km (2.5 mi.) to the south of the western end of Hiva Oa, across the Canal du Bordelais, called Ha‘ava in Marquesan.

The highest point on the island is Pahio , rising to an elevation of 1,000 m (3,280 ft.).

Tahuata is the smallest inhabited island of the Marquesas. The 2002 census population was 682.

The first European explorers disembarked on Tahuata in 1595, beginning with the Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira at Vaitahu, followed by Captain James Cook in 1774 and Admiral Dupetit-Thouars in 1482, who signed the treaty annexing the Marquesas Islands to France.

Because there is insufficient level ground for even a small runway, the island is served by the airport on Hiva Oa. This serves to give the island a feeling of much greater isolation, despite its proximity to Hiva Oa.

The island's chief town is the village of Vaitahu, located on the western shore.

In pre-European times, the tribes of Tahuata were allied with the tribes from the Nuku province of Hiva Oa, and the island was considered a dependency of that province.

See Also

• French Polynesia