Easter Island is one of the world's most isolated inhabited islands. Its closest inhabited neighbor is Pitcairn Island, with fewer than a hundred inhabitants 2,075 km (1,289.35 mi) to the West. It has a latitude close to that of Caldera, Chile, and lies 3,510 km (2,180 mi) west of continental Chile at its nearest point. (Isla Salas y Gómez, 415 km (258 mi) to the east, is closer but uninhabited).

The island is approx 24.6 km (15.3 mi) long by 12.3 km (7.6 mi) at its widest point — its overall shape has been described as a triangle. It has an area of 163.6 km² (63 sq mi), and a maximum altitude of 507 metres. There are three Rano (freshwater crater lakes), at Rano Kau, Rano Raraku and Rano Aroi, near the summit of Terevaka, but no permanent streams or rivers.

The climate of Easter Island is subtropical maritime. The lowest temperatures are registered in July and August (18 °C or 64 °F) and the highest in February (maximum temperature 28 °C or 82 °F[9]), the summer season in the southern hemisphere. Winters are relatively mild. The rainiest month is April, though the island experiences year-round rainfall.[10] As an isolated island Easter Island is constantly exposed to winds which help to keep the temperature fairly cool. Precipitation averages 1,118 millimetres or 44 inches per year. Occasionally, heavy rainfall and rainstorms strike the island. These occur mostly in the winter months (June–August). Since it is close to the South Pacific High and outside the range of the ITCZ, cyclones and hurricanes do not occur around Easter island.[1