Easter Island is a small volcanic island of about 64 square miles (166 sq km) in the South Pacific Ocean.
It is about 2,300 miles (3,700 km) west of Chile and 2,000 miles (3,220 km) east of Tahiti, making it one of the most isolated places in the world.
Easter Island belongs to Chile, and nearly 3,000 people live there today.
No one knows for sure who erected the 600 stone statues, called moai, more than 1,600 years ago. They may have been people from Polynesia, or they may have been South American Indians.
Easter Island was named by a Dutch sea captain who discovered it on Easter Sunday in 1722.
The giant stone moai of Easter Island range in height from 13 to 20 feet.
The culture and people who created them 16 centuries ago remain a mystery.
