Jedi scholars believed that this once-mythic planet might have been the birthplace of the Jedi Order, millennia before the Battle of Yavin. Other possibilities included Ondus and Had Abbadon. What was know for sure was that the planet was settled some 57,000 years before the Galactic Civil War, and it was the homeworld of the Utai and Pau'an races of humanoids. Much of the planet's wind-swept surface was dominated by immense sinkholes, in which the Utapauans built their elegant cities. These sinkholes were caused by the porous nature of the planet's sandstone crust, which over time drew all surface water belowground. Thus, entire oceans were formed underground, with the landmasses literally floating on their surface. The continual movement of water eroded the porous rock, causing large sections of ground to sink.

The change on the surface of the planet was believed to have occurred about 10,000 years before the onset of the Clone Wars. With the lack of water on the surface, weather patterns changed, and intense hyperwinds began to scour the surface, levelling mountains and leaving behind a featureless flatlands. However, these winds also produced an unexpected benefit: the power of the wind could be harvested with huge windmills, providing limitless supplies of energy. The Utapauns' ecomony was based primarily on the sale of excess power. Secondary income came from off-world mining operations that tapped into the underground ocean for the trace elements found in the water. During the height of the Clone Wars, Utapau remained unallied to either the Old Republic of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and lacked any sort of strategic value. However, Utapau was eventually subjugated by General Grievous, who transported the leaders of the Council of Separatists to the planet for safekeeping, just prior to the Battle of Coruscant. Utapau was encircled by a ring of moons of various sizes, which dominated the skies during both daylight and nighttime.

Source Abbreviations Listing - PJSB, OWS, ROF, LEV, VD3, E3N, SWDB, SWCL, OWS