Scarif was a verdant, beautiful if relatively small world, measuring just over nine thousand kilometers in diameter. It had a remote and isolated galactic location in the Abrion sector of the southeast Outer Rim Territories. A deep-blue world speckled with clouds, Scarif was comprised of tropical, volcanic island chains rising from clear, shallow oceans. Deeper oceans teeming with life were surrounded by rocky archipelagos. The planet’s mantle was filled with dense metals that became valuable in starship construction. Scarif’s sandy beaches were tranquil and idyllic, and some led into jungle canopies filled with wildlife, including areca nut palm trees and the giant peetalex sea grape, which offered natural protection. The world had a temperate and comfortable climate and from the surface appeared as a tropical paradise despite its challenging ecosystem and dangerous predators.

The Galactic Empire constructed its Imperial Center of Military Research across a wheel of islets and landmasses connected by sandy tombolos and artificial transit tubes. The region was surrounded by a volcanic island covered in jungles, and the central islet housed the monolithic Citadel Tower. The Imperial installations on the planet were known to be one of the very few sites were pure, refined coaxium fuel was stored, other than Mercy Island.