Nuku Hiva

Nuku Hiva

Map showing the location of Nuku Hiva within the Marquesas Islands
Nuku Hiva Location of Nuku Hiva Island in the Pacific Ocean
Geography
Location	South Pacific Ocean
Coordinates	8°52′S 140°08′W / 8.867°S 140.133°W / -8.867; -140.133
Archipelago	Marquesas Islands
Area	339 km2 (131 sq mi)
Highest elevation	1,224 m (4016 ft)
Highest point	Tekao
Administration
France
Overseas country	French Polynesia
Demographics
Population	3,120 (2017)
Pop. density	7.8/km2 (20.2/sq mi)

Nuku Hiva (sometimes spelled Nukahiva or Nukuhiva) is the largest of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas country of France in the Pacific Ocean. It was formerly also known as Île Marchand and Madison Island.

Herman Melville wrote his book Typee based on his experiences in the Taipivai valley in the eastern part of Nuku Hiva. Robert Louis Stevenson's first landfall on his voyage on the Casco was at Hatihe'u, on the north side of the island, in 1888.