Hatutu is a small island approximately 3 km (2 mi.) northeast of Eiao

Eiao

Eiao is the largest of the extreme northwestern Marquesas Islands. The island was discovered in 1791 by the American navigator Joseph Ingraham, who named it Knox Island in honor of the then-current United States Secretary of War, Henry Knox...

 in the northern Marquesas Islands

Marquesas Islands

The Marquesas Islands enana and Te Fenua `Enata , 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. The Marquesas are located at 9° 00S, 139° 30W...

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Hatutu is administratively part of the commune

Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 (municipality) of Nuku-Hiva

Nuku-Hiva

Nuku-Hiva is a commune of French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The commune is in the administrative subdivision of the Marquesas Islands....

, itself in the administrative subdivision of the Marquesas Islands

Marquesas Islands

The Marquesas Islands enana and Te Fenua `Enata , 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. The Marquesas are located at 9° 00S, 139° 30W...

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The island is located at 7.92°S 140.57°W.

It consists of a high central ridge, which runs the full 6.5 km (4 mi.) length of the island. The ridge rises to heights up to 428 m (1,404 ft.) above sea level

Sea level

Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

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In 1992, Hatutu was declared a nature reserve

Nature reserve

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

: the Hatutu Nature Reserve

Hatutu Nature Reserve

The Hatutu Nature Reserve is a nature reserve encompassing the whole of the island of Hatutu in the northern Marquesas Islands. The reserve was declared in 1992, and is the primary nesting site of several endangered species, several of which are endemic, including the Long-billed or Hatutaa...

. The island is an important nesting ground for the blue footed booby

Blue-footed Booby

The Blue-footed Booby is a bird in the Sulidae family which comprises ten species of long-winged seabirds. The natural breeding habitat of the Blue-footed Booby is tropical and subtropical islands off the Pacific Ocean, most famously, the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.- Etymology :The name booby...

, and home to the endemic Hatutaa Polynesian Warbler

Hatutaa Polynesian Warbler

The Hatutaa Polynesian Warbler , also called the Hatutu Polynesian Warbler or the Long-billed Polynesian Warbler, is a subspecies of the Polynesian Warbler. The subspecies is endemic to the island of Hatutu, and one of the primary breeding species in the Hatutu Nature Reserve....

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