Ringed by numerous moons, the remote sanctuary of Utapau is a planet pitted with enormous sinkholes. Its windswept surface is dry and desert-like, but deep in the porous crust, at the bottom of the sinkhole are pools of life-giving water. Many of the sinkholes on one of the planet's small continents are lined with intricate cities that stretch deep into caves and crevices beneath the planet's surface. The world served as a base-of-operations for the ever-mobile Separatist Council, the assembled trade and commerce barons in command of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The Confederacy had conquered the native Utapauns, who peacefully submitted to their rule.
