1791. He named Ua Huka "Île du Solide" in honor of his ship. Lieutenant Richard Hergest, commander of the Daedalus, the supply ship of the Vancouver expedition, arrived at Ua Huka on March 30, 1792, and christened it "Riou Island". On June 2, 1842, French Rear Admiral Abel Aubert Dupetit-Thouars took possession of the northern group of the Marquesas for France. Ua Huka became a French colony. Geography The island is shaped approximately like a crescent, with its concave edge facing the south. The land area is approximately 83 km2 (32 sq. mi.). The center of the island is a high plateau, deeply indented in places by narrow river valleys. The highest peak, Hitikau reaches an elevation of . Much of the island's native plant cover, which outside the valleys consists primarily of dryland scrub, has been devastated by herds of feral goats and horses, which are estimated to number upwards of 3,000. Ua Huka is a shield volcano that was emplaced between 2.2 and 2.4 million years ago. It is thought to have formed by a center of upwelling magma called the Marquesas hotspot. The island is served by Ua Huka Airport. In contrast to the lush, larger islands of the Marquesas, Ua Huka gives a rather arid and forbidding impression, the vegetation is sparse. The rugged peaks are not as high as those of the other islands of the archipelago, about 600 m in the west and up to 800 m in the east. The highest elevation is Mount Hitikau, at 857 meters. The lower overall altitude means less cloud rainfall. Ua Huka has a much drier climate than the neighboring islands. A large part of the island is made up of extensive, arid plateaus and deep, fertile valleys in which settlements are also found. The coast, very rugged, is not protected by a coral reef, so the strong waves come directly to the shores. There are several rocky islets (motus) off the main island. Motu Hane ♁♁ is especially spectacular. It is a 163-meter-high, sugarloaf-shaped rock cone off Hane Bay on the south coast. The island is 410 meters long in a north–south direction and up to 210 meters wide, and lies 250 meters south of the Tekaepa headland, which separates the Hane and Hokatu valleys. Geology Ua Huka is formed by the northern half of two interlocking volcanoes. The first caldera, about 10 km in diameter,