This high island belonging to the southern group of Marquesas Islands is located at 9°56’ south latitude and 139°06’ west longitude. Tahuata is separated from Hiva Oa by a 3-kilometer (1.9-mile) wide sound known as the Bordelais Channel. The island has an area of 61 square kilometers (23.55 sq. miles) and is shaped like a crescent 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) long. A ridgeline running north to south reaches a maximum height of 1,050 meters (3,445 ft.). A crater rim with steep slopes that go all the way to the coast, forming high cliffs at the ends of buttress-like spurs above white sand beach bays that form an indented coastline. Tahuata is the only island in the Marquesas with coral formations.