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".