The Western Reaches, alternatively termed the Western Regions, encompassed a specific zone within the galaxy. This area, known as the Western Reaches, shared borders with other galactic zones, notably the Outer Rim Territories, the Mid Rim Territories, and the Inner Rim Territories.
Within a far-flung area of the Western Reaches existed the planet called Jakku.
Following the end of the Clone Wars, the Galactic Empire commenced a campaign directed towards Separatist holdouts located in this sector, an operation that persisted until the fourth year of the Empire's reign. Moff Wilhuff Tarkin participated in these military actions, a move that kept him away from the media storm surrounding his involvement in the Antar Atrocity. Following his reassignment to the isolated Imperial installation known as Sentinel Base, a baseless rumor emerged, suggesting that this seemingly unimportant assignment was a consequence of his failure during a crucial operation within the Western Reaches.
The Western Reaches were first defined as a galactic region in the Star Wars Legends reference book The Essential Atlas, which was published in 2008 and authored by Jason Fry and Daniel Wallace. Its inclusion into canon occurred with the 2014 novel Tarkin, penned by the writer James Luceno.