The growth of graphene on the silicon-terminated face of 6H-SiC(0001) was investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements. The initial stages of ultrahigh vacuum graphitization resulted in the growth of individual graphene sheets on random Sic terraces. These initial graphene sheets contained few defects, and the regions of clean Sic were free of contamination, exhibiting a 6 root 3 x 6 root 3R30 degrees surface reconstruction. However, graphitization to multilayer thickness resulted in multiple defects, as observed with the STM. A high density of defects was observed, which may be attributed to the initial treatment of the Sic wafer. We characterize these defects, showing that they are located predominantly below the first layer of graphene. (C) 2008 American Vacuum Society.