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Hawaii, HI

The State of Hawaii is an archipelegic U.S.
state located in the Central Pacific, south of Alaska, north
of Tahiti, and 2,300 miles (3,700 km) from the Continental
United States.
The state encompasses nearly the entirety of
the volcanic Hawaiian Island chain, which is made up of
hundreds of islands spread over 1,500 miles (2,400 km).
Of these, the eight largest islands are
considered the "main islands" and are located at the
southeastern end of the archipelago.
In order from the northwest to southeast, they
are Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Maui, and
Hawaii.
The last is by far the largest, and is very
often called the "Big Island" or "Big Isle" to avoid confusion
with the state.
The state was admitted to the Union on August
21, 1959, making it the 50th state. Its capital is located in
its largest city, Honolulu. The most recent census puts its
population at 1,211,537.
Geography
Hawaii is the southernmost state of the United
States; it would be the westernmost, if not for Alaska.
It is one of only two states (Alaska is the
other) that are outside the contiguous United States, and do
not share a border with another U.S. state.
Hawaii is the only state of the United States
that is separated from the mainland by water, yet is not a
territory is completely surrounded by water continues to grow
in area because of active extrusive lava flows, most notably
from Kilauea (Kīlauea). is entirely in the tropics.
Except for Easter Island, Hawaii is farther
away from land than any other landmass on Earth. Hawaii’s
tallest mountain, Mauna Kea stands over 13,000 feet (4,000 m)
and is taller than Mount Everest if followed to its base at
the floor of the Pacific Ocean.
All of the Hawaiian Islands were formed by
volcanoes arising from the sea floor from a magma source
described in geological theory as a hotspot.
The theory maintains that as the tectonic plate
beneath much of the Pacific Ocean moves in a northwesterly
direction, the hot spot remains stationary, slowly creating
new volcanoes.
This explains why only volcanoes on the
southern half of the Big Island, and the Loihi Seamount deep
below the waters off its southern coast, are presently active,
with Loihi being the newest volcano to form.
The last volcanic eruption outside the Big
Island happened at Haleakala (Haleakalā) on Maui in the late
18th century (though recent research suggests that Haleakala's
most recent eruptive activity could be hundreds of years
older).
The volcanic activity and subsequent erosion
created impressive geological features. The Big Island is
notable as the world’s fifth highest island.
Because of the islands' volcanic formation,
native life before human activity is said to have arrived by
the "3 W's": wind (carried through the air), waves (brought by
ocean currents), and wings (birds, insects, and whatever they
brought with them).
The isolation of the Hawaiian Islands in the
middle of the Pacific Ocean, and the wide range of
environments to be found on high islands located in and near
the tropic, has resulted in a vast array of endemic flora and
fauna.
Hawaii has more endangered species per square
mile and has lost a higher percent of its endemic species than
anywhere else on Earth.
Climate
The climate of Hawaii is typical for a tropical
area, although temperatures and humidity tend to be a bit less
extreme than other tropical locales due to the constant trade
winds blowing from the east. Summer highs are usually in the
upper 80s°F, (around 31°C) during the day and mid 70s, (around
24°C) at night.
Winter temperatures during the day are usually
in the low to mid 80s, (around 28°C) and (at low elevation)
seldom dipping below the mid 60s (18 °C) at night. Snow,
although not usually associated with tropics, falls at the
higher elevations of Mauna Kea (13,796 feet/ 4,205 meters) and
Mauna Loa on the Big Island in some winter months.
Snow only rarely falls on Maui’s Haleakala.
Mount Waialeale, on the island of Kauai, is
notable for rainfall, as it has the second highest average
annual rainfall on Earth, about 460 inches (38 ft. 4 in., or
11.7 m).
Local climates vary considerably on each
island, grossly divisible into windward and leeward (Kona)
areas based upon location relative to the higher mountains.
Windward sides face the Northeast Trades and
receive much more rainfall; leeward sides are drier and
sunnier, with less rain and less cloud cover.
This fact is utilized by the tourist industry,
which concentrates resorts on sunny leeward coasts.
Hurricanes are a rare occurrence in Hawaii,
although it is probable that all the islands of Hawaii have
been hit by a hurricane in the past.
The worst hurricane to hit Hawaii was Hurricane
Iniki in 1992, which showed that Hawaii was indeed vulnerable
to a direct hit from a hurricane.
This article is licensed under
the
GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the
Wikipedia
article "Hawaii".
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