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Ice world · Outer Rim · K-18
Hoth
A frozen, remote ice world where the Rebel Alliance hid Echo Base in glacier caves.
- Region
- Outer Rim
- Grid
- K-18
- Sector
- Anoat
- System
- Hoth
- Suns
- 1
- Moons
- 3
- Climate
- Frigid and snowbound
- Terrain
- Glaciers, snow plains, ice caves
- Inhabitants
- Wampas, Tauntauns
Overview
Hoth is a frigid planet in the Outer Rim, covered by glaciers, snow plains and ice caves[1]. Numerous moons hang in its sky, and the frozen wastes between the glaciers look almost lifeless[1][5]. The Hoth system also holds an asteroid field[5].
That emptiness is the whole attraction, since a world this empty draws very little attention. Han Solo sums the planet up as an ice cube with barely enough life to fill a space cruiser[1]. After the Battle of Yavin, the Rebel Alliance wanted a headquarters that nobody would bother to look for, and it picked Hoth and dug Echo Base into the ice caverns[1][5].
Two animals dominate the snowfields. Tauntauns are the snow lizards that the Rebels tamed as patrol mounts, and wampas are towering ice predators that are dangerous to anyone caught outside the base[1].
Who lives here
Role in the galaxy
Hoth works as a hiding place because nobody would want it. Far from Imperial attention, Echo Base was dug into the ice caverns and protected by an ion cannon and a planetary shield[1][2]. Patrols on tauntauns kept watch over the snow, and the base became the Alliance's headquarters after the Battle of Yavin[1][5].
The planet is the opening setting of The Empire Strikes Back. Luke is knocked down by a wampa while out on patrol, an Imperial probe droid then finds the hidden base, and General Rieekan orders an evacuation. The Empire follows up with a ground assault, known as the Battle of Hoth[1][2].
Chronicle
Events are in story order. Spoilers stay hidden until you open them — or mark the title as watched on the timeline, and they open by themselves.
-
1 ABY
After the Battle of Yavin, the Alliance picks Hoth as its new base and builds Echo Base in the ice caves, a job that took about two years[5].
-
3 ABY
Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back
On patrol outside Echo Base, Luke Skywalker is knocked down by a wampa and dragged to its ice cave. He escapes by pulling his lightsaber to his hand with the Force, and Han Solo then finds him in the snow[1].
-
3 ABY
Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back
An Imperial probe droid finds the hidden base, and General Rieekan orders an evacuation of Echo Base[2].
-
3 ABY
Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back
Spoiler · Episode V — The Empire Strikes BackShowYou've watched it
General Veers lands AT-AT walkers that knock out the base's shield generators, while Rebel snowspeeders try to slow the assault. The Alliance escapes with its key people but loses the base[1].
-
3 ABY
Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back
Spoiler · Episode V — The Empire Strikes BackShowYou've watched it
Luke flies to Dagobah to find Yoda, while the Millennium Falcon, carrying Han, Leia, Chewbacca and C-3PO, escapes into the asteroid field and then heads for Bespin[2].
Where to see Hoth
Every film, series and game in the timeline where Hoth appears, in watch order.
Filmed on Earth
Real places that played Hoth on screen.
Hardangerjøkulen glacier, near Finse, Norway
The cast and crew filmed on location in freezing weather. The Imperial ground assault itself was shot with miniatures on a set[4].
Did you know?
Questions about Hoth
Where was Hoth filmed?
Hoth was filmed on the Hardangerjøkulen glacier near Finse in Norway, in freezing weather. The Imperial ground assault was shot separately, with miniatures on a set covered in fake snow[3][4].
Who lives on Hoth?
Hoth has no known sentient natives. Its native animals are the tauntauns, snow lizards that the Rebels tamed as mounts, and the dangerous wampas that hunt across the ice[1].
Where is Hoth in Star Wars?
Hoth lies in the Outer Rim, in the Anoat sector, at grid square K-18 of the galaxy map. Its system also holds an asteroid field[5].