DOTLAN EveMaps

The origin of the Borg is vague. What is known is by hearsay, brief contacts with Borg survivors, and even the Borg itself.

The Borg originated in the Delta Quadrant. According to the Borg Queen, the species known as the Borg started out as normal plain lifeforms. They had been developing for thousands of centuries before the 24th century, and over many years, they evolved into a mixture of organic and artificial life with cybernetic enhancements.

By 1484, the Borg had assimilated only a handful of star systems of the Quadrant and they had many encounters with the Vaadwaur but by 2373, the Borg had assimilated thousands of systems. Their territory was intersected by a narrow corridor of space filled with gravimetric distortions, eventually nicknamed the "Northwest Passage" by the crew of the Federation starship USS Voyager during the Borg's conflict with Species 8472. The farthest border of the Borg realm within the Delta Quadrant seemed to be the Nekrit Expanse.

The Collective had their own territory and ventured out, beyond it, on exploration missions. At one time, Voyager was thrown 9,500 light years, beyond Borg territory and ten years closer to Earth. Over the next four years, the starship still encountered Borg vessels. Since the Borg had such extensive transwarp networks throughout the Milky Way Galaxy, they could effectively project their presence anywhere in a comparatively short amount of time. While the Borg did have a large expanse of their own territory, it was finite, and any forays elsewhere were simply invasions of other territories.

Within the Delta Quadrant, the Borg had a vast structure called the Unicomplex. This structure was made up of thousands of sub-structures and housed many of their vessels. It was believed the Unicomplex was the Borg headquarters.

When the Borg started using transwarp hubs, they could appear anywhere in the galaxy, giving them the ability to assimilate species with little or no warning at all and within very short periods of time. Their vessels were equipped with specially designed conduits to withstand the temporal stresses when traveling through transwarp conduits. Borg starships had the ability to travel through time. They once tried to assimilate a species by traveling back in time.