Sonsorol state is located some 250 to 350 kilometers southwest of Angaur. These small outer islands, totaling some 3 square kilometer in combined area, include Sonsorol, Pulo Anna and Merir. The people of these islands are both physically and culturally different from the rest of the population of Palau. The islands are miniature platforms of raised reef composed of coral-line limestone and have sandy soils covered by a sparse forest and brush. The islands are only a few feet above sea level, and have depressed, swampy interiors. Coconut palms lines the beaches and are also primary resource for the only industry on the islands: copra production.

Today, the islands are largely uninhabited as most of the native population lives in Koror or on Ngerekebesang island in Koror State. Even so, Sonsorol people retain a strong sense of cultural pride in their heritage and a firm commitment to their islands.

It is believed that the people of Sonsorol state migrated there from the other Caroline Islands, an island group more than 1000 km to the northeast on the other side of Palau. This migration is in itself considered a truly remarkable event in the prehistory of the Pacific.