The Abandoned Island of Eiao

Despite being the largest island in its region, Eiao is completely empty of human residents. It is legally governed by a distant community located on a different island entirely.

This rugged volcanic island in the Marquesas chain was once home to traditional settlements, but it now sits silent and isolated. Today, it is officially administered by the municipality of Nuku-Hiva, despite being a separate landmass in the northwestern reaches of the archipelago. Without a permanent population to tend to it, the island has been left to thrive as a natural refuge for rare wildlife. It remains a mysterious, lonely outpost in the vast Pacific Ocean.