The State of Hawaii is one of the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia.
The state was admitted to the Union on August 21, 1959, making it the 50th state.
Its capital is located in its major city, Honolulu on the island of Oahu.
The most recent census puts the state's population at 1,211,537.
This 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).
At the southeastern end of the archipelago, the eight "main islands" are (from the northwest to southeast) Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lānai, Kahoolawe, Maui, and Hawaii.
The last is by far the largest, and is often called the "Big Island" or "Big Isle" to avoid confusion with the state. This archipelago is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania.
Geographia
An archipelago situated some 3,200 kilometres (approx. 2000 miles) southwest of the North American mainland, Hawaii is the southernmost state of the United States and the second westernmost state after Alaska. Only Hawaii and Alaska are outside the contiguous United States and do not share a border with any other U.S. state.
Hawaii is the only state of the United States that
* is not located in North America
* is separated from the mainland by water
* is completely surrounded by water
* does not have a straight line in its State boundary
* continuously grows in area (due to currently active lava flows, most notably from Kilauea (Kīlauea).)
Map of Hawaii
Map of Hawaii
Na Pali coast, Kauai
Na Pali coast, Kauai
Hawaii's tallest mountain, Mauna Kea stands at 13,796 feet (4,205 m)and is taller than Mount Everest if followed to the base of the mountain - on the floor of the Pacific Ocean.
All of the Hawaiian islands were formed by volcanos erupting 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.
A NASA satellite composition of the Hawaiian Islands.
A NASA satellite composition of the Hawaiian Islands.
Areas under the control and protection of the National Park Service include:
* Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail on the Big Island
* Haleakala National Park in Kula
* Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island
* Kalaupapa National Historical Park in Kalaupapa
* Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park in Kailua-Kona
* Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park (Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau) in Honaunau
* Puukohola Heiau National Historic Site (Puʻukoholā) in Kawaihae
* USS Arizona Memorial at Honolulu
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).
Most of Hawaii has only two seasons.
Summer is the first which is from May to October, and Winter is from October to April.
Local climates vary considerably on each island, grossly divisible into windward (Koolau) 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.
History
The earliest habitation supported by archaeological evidence dates to the 4th century, probably by Polynesian settlers from the Marquesas, followed by a second wave of migration from Raiatea and Bora Bora in the 11th century.
The first recorded European contact with the islands was in 1778 by British explorer James Cook. Substantial evidence (Stokes 1932 for example) exists, however, of earlier Spanish, and possibly Irish, visits to Hawaii. Hawaii is one of three U.S. States that were independent nations prior to joining the United States - Vermont Republic, 1791; or being annexed by it - Republic of Texas, 1845; and Hawai`i.
Of these, Hawai`i and Texas were the only ones with formal international diplomatic recognition.
The Kingdom of Hawaii existed from 1810 until 1893 when the monarchy was overthrown.
It was an independent republic under American rule from 1894 until 1898. It was annexed by the United States in 1898, became a territory in 1900, and has been a state since 1959.
Ethnicities
Ethnically, Hawaii is one of only four states in which non-Hispanic whites do not form a majority, and has the largest percentage of Asian Americans. Hawaii was the second majority-minority state in the United States. Both Hawaii and New Mexico have been majority-minority regions since the early 20th century, but New Mexico became a state before Hawaii.
Hawaii also has the largest percentage of persons of mixed race, who constitute some 20% of the total population.
The third group of foreigners to arrive upon Hawaii’s shores, after the Polynesians and Europeans, were the Chinese. Chinese employees serving on Western trading ships disembarked and settled starting in 1789.
In 1820 the first American missionaries arrived in Hawaii to preach Christianity and teach the Hawaiians what the missionaries considered "civilized" ways.
A large proportion of Hawaii’s population has become a people of Asian ancestry (especially Chinese, Japanese and Filipino) many of whom are descendants from those waves of early foreign immigrants brought to the islands in the nineteenth century, beginning in the 1850s, to work on the sugar plantations.
The first 153 Japanese immigrants arrived in Hawaii on June 19, 1868. They were not "legally" approved by the Japanese government established after the Meiji Restoration because the contract was between a broker and the Tokugawa shogunate, by then terminated.
The first Japanese government-approved immigrants arrived in Hawaii on February 9, 1885 after Kalakaua's petition to Emperor Meiji when Kalakaua visited Japan in 1881.
Almost 13,000 Portuguese had come to Hawaii by 1899. They worked on the sugar plantations, as many had done previously. By October 17, 1901, 5,000 Puerto Ricans had made their new homes on the four islands. Currently, there are over 30,000 Puerto Ricans or Hawaiian-Puerto Ricans and almost 50,000 Hawaiian-Portuguese living in Hawaii.
Economy
The history of Hawaii can be traced through a succession of dominating industries: sandalwood, whaling, sugarcane, pineapple, military, tourism, and education. Since statehood was achieved in 1959, tourism has been the largest industry in Hawaii, contributing 24.3% of the Gross State Product (GSP) in 1997.
New efforts are underway to diversify the economy. The total gross output for the state in 2003 was US$47 billion; per capita income for Hawaii residents was US$30,441.
Industrial exports from Hawaii include food processing and apparel. These industries play a small role in the Hawaii economy, however, due to the considerable shipping distance to the ports and population of the West Coast of the United States. Food exports include coffee, macadamia nuts, pineapple, livestock, and sugarcane.
Agricultural sales for 2002, according to the Hawaii Agricultural Statistics Service, were US$370.9 million from diversified agriculture, US$100.6 million from pineapple, and US$64.3 million from sugarcane.
Hawaii is known for its relatively high per capita state tax burden. In the years 2002 and 2003, Hawaii residents had the highest state tax per capita at US$2,757 and US$2,838, respectively.
This rate can be explained partly by the fact that services such as education, health care and social services are all rendered at the state level, as opposed to the municipal level in all other states.
Millions of tourists contribute to the collection figure by paying the general excise tax and hotel room tax; thus not all the taxes collected come directly from residents. Business leaders, however, have often considered the state's tax burden as being too high, contributing to both higher prices and the perception of an unfriendly business climate.
See the list of businesses in Hawaii for more information on commerce in the state.
Until recently, Hawaii was the only state in the U.S. that attempted to control gasoline prices through a Gas Cap Law.
The law was enacted during a period when oil profits in Hawaii in relation to the mainland U.S. were under scrutiny, and sought to tie local gasoline prices to those of the mainland. The law took effect in September 2005 amid price fluctuations caused by Hurricane Katrina. The Hawaii state legislature suspended the law in April 2006.
