Hawaii (state)

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Introduction; Physical Geography; Economic Activities; The People of Hawaii; Education and Cultural Institutions; Government; History

Introduction

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Hawaii (state), only island state and the southernmost state in the United States. Hawaii consists of the Hawaiian Islands and a few other geographically unrelated islets located near the center of the northern Pacific Ocean. The state is composed of eight main islands and 124 islets, reefs, and shoals. Honolulu, the capital and largest city of Hawaii, lies about 3,900 km (about 2,400 mi) from the western coast of the United States mainland.

The Aloha State, as Hawaii was officially nicknamed upon becoming the 50th state of the Union on August 21, 1959, occupies a land area almost wholly volcanic in origin. Some small areas above sea level consist of limestone derived from ancient coral reefs. These reefs were formed during periods when the sea level was higher than it is now. The diverse scenery in Hawaii also includes mountains rising to more than 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) above sea level; great stretches of barren lava beds; golden beaches rimmed by palm trees; magnificent cliffs and brightly colored canyons; dense rain forests and arid thorny scrublands; and a multi-hued patchwork of field and forest.

The Hawaiian Islands were originally settled by Polynesian immigrants more than 1,000 years ago but probably remained unknown beyond Polynesia until Captain James Cook reached the islands in 1778. He named them the Sandwich Islands in honor of his patron, John Montagu, the fourth earl of Sandwich. In 1796 King Kamehameha I united the islands into a single independent kingdom. In 1893 the Hawaiian monarch was deposed, and Hawaii became successively a republic in 1894, a U.S. possession in 1898, and a U.S. territory in 1900. During the last half of the 19th century, Hawaii developed a plantation economy based on the cultivation of sugar and, later, pineapples, for export. Thousands of immigrants, mostly from Asia, came to work on the plantations. The name of the state is taken from that of the island of Hawaii and is a Polynesian word of uncertain meaning. In the 19th century the name was extended to the entire archipelago.

Hawaii’s place in modern world history was set on December 7, 1941, when a massive Japanese air attack on the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor and other military installations in Hawaii precipitated the United States’ entry into World War II. Hawaii’s role as one of the forward bases of U.S. military power has continued to the present day. Hawaii’s postwar years were also marked by the diversification of its economy, with a great expansion of tourism, military expenditure, and some industry, and by admission to the Union in 1959.

Physical Geography

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The state of Hawaii is made up of an island chain that extends for about 2,600 km (about 1,600 mi) between the island of Hawaii in the southeast and Kure Island in the northwest. The state has a total area of 28,311 sq km (10,931 sq mi), including 98 sq km (38 sq mi) of inland water. It is the fourth smallest state. The mean elevation is about 920 m (3,030 ft).

Nearly all of the state’s total area is accounted for by eight main islands, which are from east to west Hawaii, Maui, Kahoolawe, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai, and Niihau. Northwestward from the main islands extends a long string of islets, coral reefs, and shoals. The largest of these is Laysan, which covers only 400 hectares (1,000 acres). These landforms are either uninhabited or are sparsely populated by people staffing government facilities.

The state of Hawaii is not coextensive with the geographical unit called the Hawaiian Islands, or Hawaiian Chain. The inhabited Midway Islands, in the northwest, are not part of the state but are administered by the U.S. government as a separate dependency. The atoll of Palmyra, an island southwest of the main islands, was part of the Territory of Hawaii but was specifically excluded from the state when statehood was achieved in 1959. It remains a U.S. territory.

Formation of the Islands and Volcanoes

The Hawaiian Islands and the many seamounts to the northwest represent the exposed peaks and submerged mountains of a great chain of extinct, dormant, or active volcanoes. This chain has been forming for many millions of years as vast outpourings of lava issue from a relatively fixed vent or “hot spot” of volcanic activity on the deep ocean floor. This hot spot is believed to have remained in its present general position for many millions of years. The large tectonic plate (see Plate Tectonics) that forms the floor of much of the Pacific Ocean appears to be moving slowly in a northwesterly direction at a rate of about 10 cm (4 in) a year. Lava flows pouring out of this vent over long periods of geological time have built a series of broad, gently sloping volcanoes. Each has subsequently migrated to the northwest along with the slowly moving tectonic plate. Eventually becoming distant from the hot spot, the volcanoes become dormant and then extinct. Over long periods of time the volcanoes submerge into the sea as their great mass causes them to sink back into the crust, leaving no volcanic rock above sea level. Over time, coral growth produces first fringe and then barrier reefs, and the tops of the sinking volcanoes become completely covered with coral (see Coral Reef). In this process atolls, such as Laysan, Midway, and Kure, have formed at the northwest end of the Hawaiian Archipelago. Atolls are characterized by a large lagoon surrounded by a barrier reef which protects one or more small, low lying, sandy islets.

The still active, and therefore younger, volcanoes of Hawaii today are technically those that have erupted since written records have been kept. These active volcanoes include one on the island of Maui, three on the island of Hawaii, and a recently discovered submarine volcano, Loihi, about 35 km (about 20 mi) southeast of the island of Hawaii.

Above the surface of the ocean the lava and limestone rock has been subjected to erosion, and today the islands of Hawaii reflect the intensity and duration of these forces of erosion. The oldest islands, in the northwest, have been worn down to sea level and are now represented only by low atolls and coral reefs that rest on the submerged remnants of volcanoes. Farther southeastward are tiny lava islets. The southeastern end of the island chain is geologically the most recent section and includes the eight main islands. The island of Hawaii, the most recent of all, is the highest and largest island and, compared with the other main islands, has not been heavily eroded since it is still in the formative stage.

On the other, older main islands the long dormant volcanoes have been heavily eroded and the mountain ranges are characterized by steep slopes and numerous sharp ridges. As the process of erosion continues, all the main islands are being slowly worn down.

The effects of earth movements and changing sea levels have also altered the physical appearance of the islands. For example, lower and higher sea levels, and perhaps some subsidence, or the sinking of the land, has caused the formation of Pearl Harbor. Uplifting, or the rising of the land, has left former beaches along the Oahu coast high above the sea. In addition, higher sea levels and uplifting of some of the ancient coral reefs that fringe part of the coast has resulted in deposits of limestone along the coast.

The volcanoes of the Hawaiian Islands are all so-called shield volcanoes, or lava domes. Unlike the volcanoes of Alaska and South America, those of Hawaii were not created by very explosive eruptions. Formed mostly by lava flows, they are great rounded mountain masses, rather than steep-sided cones. Mauna Kea, dormant for centuries, is the highest mountain in the state. It rises to 4,205 m (13,796 ft) above sea level, and its summit is dotted with cinder cones formed by fire fountains ejecting millions of small pieces of volcanic cinder and ash.

The state’s two main active volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Kilauea, are both on the island of Hawaii. Although they erupt periodically, large-scale volcanic explosions have not occurred in recent history. Eruptions are usually accompanied by minor earthquakes, but large and hazardous earthquakes are known to occur. Lava flows are generally not dangerous, but they have destroyed extensive areas of farmland. The molten lava sometimes reaches the sea and has, in places, created new land areas. Mauna Loa has a summit 4,170 m (13,680 ft) above sea level. Its chief crater, Mokuaweoweo, erupted several times during the 20th century, but the lava that sometimes cascades down its slopes issues from openings on the flanks of the mountain. Kilauea lies on the southeastern slope of Mauna Loa. Halemaumau, a crater in the summit caldera of Kilauea, erupts occasionally and fire fountains near the summit or along the rift zones sometimes eject volcanic particles far into the air.

Lava occurs on all the main islands in either of two basic forms, pahoehoe and aa. Pahoehoe is a smooth, ropelike form of lava with small holes formed by gas escaping as it cooled. Aa is a rougher and more pitted kind of lava, formed when the flow of escaping gas is less regular and of greater intensity.

Among the lava features associated with volcanic eruptions are Pele’s hair and Pele’s tears, which are named for the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes. Pele’s hair is formed when small particles of molten material are thrown into the air and spun out by the wind into long hair-like strands. Pele’s tears are formed when the particles fuse into tearlike drops of volcanic glass.

The Main Islands

Hawaii, often called the Big Island, is almost twice as large as the rest of the islands combined. Roughly triangular in shape, it extends 150 km (93 mi) from north to south and 122 km (76 mi) from east to west. The island is a huge mountainous mass dominated by two great volcanic peaks, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. In addition to its great bare lava beds and barren ash-covered slopes, which cover much of the island, Hawaii has large areas of tropical rain forests, numerous waterfalls, and great stretches of rolling grasslands.

Maui, the second largest island, is sometimes called the Valley Isle because it consists of two mountain masses separated by a low, narrow valley-like isthmus. Haleakala, a huge dormant volcano 3,055 m (10,023 ft) high, forms the largest of these mountain masses. Its summit depression is huge, with a circumference of 34 km (21 mi). The lowland isthmus forms a fertile agricultural area.

Molokai is called the Friendly Island because of the hospitality its inhabitants extend to visitors. Its eastern half is a mountainous area that rises to 1,512 m (4,961 ft) at Mount Kamakou. Along the northeastern coast steep cliffs tower as high as 1,100 m (3,600 ft) above the sea. The western half consists of a smaller volcano that rises to 503 m (1,381 ft). Much of this mountain is a generally low plateau, which was formerly used for pineapple growing, and now for cattle ranching and some tourism. On the northern side lies Kalaupapa, a settlement for people with leprosy, or Hansen’s disease. There, Father Damien, a Belgian Roman Catholic priest, labored among the lepers until he died of the disease in 1889.

Lanai, known as the Pineapple Island for the many years it was a prosperous pineapple plantation, was recently opened to tourism. Its years of private ownership by the Dole Food Company and reputation today as a place where visitors can find seclusion has bestowed upon it a new nickname as the Private Island. It is a generally hilly island that rises gradually to 1,027 m (3,369 ft) above sea level at Lanaihale, or Mount Palawai. Cut off in part from the northeast trade winds by Maui and Molokai, the island of Lanai receives very little rainfall except in the summit region surrounding Lanaihale. For a time the land was used mainly for cattle raising. In 1922 most of the island was purchased by the Hawaiian Pineapple Company (now the Dole Company), which tapped underground reservoirs and valley streams for irrigation water. The workers and their families reside in Lanai City, now the chief community, which lies at the foot of Lanaihale on the Palawai plateau.

Oahu, called the Gathering Place, is the home of 870,000 people, or about three-quarters of the state’s total population, and the site of Honolulu, the state capital. The island is made up of two parallel mountain ranges, which are separated by a low rolling plateau and fringed by narrow coastal plains. The ranges, which run from northwest to southeast, are the Waianae Range on the west and the Koolau Range on the east. Mount Kaala, the highest point on Oahu, rises to 1,227 m (4,025 ft) in the Waianae Range. The Koolau Range reaches a maximum height of 946 m (3,105 ft). On the windward, or northeast, side this range forms a series of spectacular cliffs. Honolulu, by far the largest city in Hawaii, lies on a narrow leeward coastal plain at the foot of the Koolau Range. Nearby are three famous landmarks, Punchbowl, Diamond Head, and Koko Head, all of them the remnant deposits of extinct volcanic vents. At its southern end the plateau merges with a broad coastal plain that encloses Pearl Harbor, Hawaii’s finest harbor.

Kauai, the wettest and greenest of the islands, is often called the Garden Isle. Perhaps the most scenic island of Hawaii, it is an area of luxuriant vegetation, multihued canyons, and numerous streams and waterfalls. The mountain’s highest peak, Kawaikini, rises to 1,598 m (5,243 ft). The windward summit region of the extinct Kauai volcano is one of the wettest areas on earth. Through the centuries the erosive action of torrential streams has produced steep canyons, such as Waimea Canyon. The island’s most popular scenic attraction, this great canyon is 16 km (10 mi) in length and has multicolored walls more than 800 m (2,600 ft) high. On the northwest coast the land drops in a series of huge craggy cliffs called Na Pali. Along other parts of the coast, sugarcane and cattle are raised on narrow lowlands. Kauai has served as the backdrop for a number of movies, including King Kong (1976), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and Jurassic Park (1993).

Niihau is the private property of the Robinson family, the descendants of Mrs. Elizabeth Sinclair and family, who purchased the island from the Hawaiian government in 1864. Only invited guests of the residents or of the owners are welcome there, and Niihau is frequently called the Aloof Island or Forbidden Island. Some 230 native Hawaiians live and work on Niihau. They speak the old Hawaiian language and follow some of the customs and traditions of their ancestors. Most of the island is low and arid. Too dry for cultivation, the island is used for grazing cattle.

Kahoolowe, the smallest of the main islands, is rocky and sparsely vegetated, especially in the upper region of the island. It has a maximum elevation of only 450 m (1,477 ft). Kahoolawe was used by the U.S. Navy as a target site from 1941 until 1994, when it was ceded to Hawaii. The Navy will control access to the island until 2003, or until all unexploded ordnance is removed.

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Introduction

Physical Geography

Formation of the Islands and Volcanoes

The Main Islands