Hawaii: The Aloha State

Hawaii: The Aloha State — page 1 — INTRODUCTION Consisting of a group of islands in the central Pacific Ocean is Hawaii the 50th state in the Union It is unique among the states in that it is the only one made up entirely of islands It is also the only state in which the majority of the population does not trace its heritage back to Europe Hawaii has been nicknamed the Aloha State Aloha is a Hawaiian word with many meanings among them welcome love hello and goodbye The word aloha reveals the warm and welcoming nature of the Hawaiian people Visitors from around the world come to Hawaii to enjoy its tropical paradise Hawaii lies almost entirely in the tropics Separated from the U S mainland by the world’s biggest ocean the Pacific Hawaii is the only state that does not fall within the continent of North America It holds a strategic position in the defense of the United States Pearl Harbor a vast shipyard for the repair and overhaul of U S fleet units is the home port for many U S naval ships It serves as a training base for submarine and antisubmarine-warfare forces Many hotels and resorts line Hawaii’s beaches 4 HAWAI I Hawaiian dancers are one of Hawaii’s tourist attractions QUICK FACTS Hawaii was the last state to enter the Union Honolulu is the capital of Hawaii It is on the island of Oahu The state bird is the nene or Hawaiian goose The nene nearly became extinct but it was rescued by conservationists Hawaii’s state flower is the yellow hibiscus The state tree is the kukui tree It is also known as the candlenut Hawaii’s state song is Hawaii Ponoi Hawaii’s Own

Hawaii: The Aloha State — page 2 — INTRODUCTION 5 QUICK FACTS The state marine mammal is the humpback whale Humpback whales frequently swim in Hawaii’s waters Hawaii’s state flag has eight horizontal stripes representing its eight main islands In the top left corner of the flag is the Union Jack the national flag of Great Britain Many of the advisers of Hawaii’s early kings were British Hawaii is the most isolated population center in the world It is 2,390 miles from California 3,850 miles from Japan 4,900 miles from China and 5,280 miles from the Philippines These distances do not stop millions of visitors from coming to the Aloha State every year Driving to the islands from the mainland is not possible but many airlines offer regular flights to Hawaii Hawaii has nine commercial airports to accommodate the large number of flights You can also take a boat to Hawaii Cruise ships and other boats frequent the waters surrounding the islands Aloha Airlines provides several flights to the neighboring islands every day Hawaii Location Map KAUAI Hanamaulu Kalaheo Kapaa Lihue Kekaha NIIHAU OAHU Waialua Haleiwa Laie Hauula Makaha H2 Kahaluu H3 H1 Ewa Waimanalo Honolulu Waimanalo Beach H1 H A W A Kaunakakai MOLOKAI Napili-Honokowai I I A N LANAI Wailuku Lanai Lahaina Kahului Pukalani Makawao Kihei HALEAKALA NATʼL PARK I S L KAHOOLAWE MAUI Pacific Ocean A N D S HAWAII Hilo Captain Cook HAWAII NATʼL PARK Hawaii has no immediate neighbors It is completely surrounded by the Pacific Ocean Capital Honolulu Interstate highways 0 0 80 129 160 Mi 258 Km Scale Population 1,211,537 Size 6,459 square miles Highest peak Mauna Kea 13,796 feet

Hawaii: The Aloha State — page 3 — 6 HAWAI I Many of Hawaii’s waterfalls and pools were formed by ancient lava beds QUICK FACTS Hawaii’s islands are almost all volcanic in origin Hawaii has the world’s largest active and inactive volcanoes Each of Hawaii’s inhabited islands has a nickname Maui is the second largest island in Hawaii Hawaii is made up of eight main islands Hawaii Maui Molokai Lanai Oahu Kauai Niihau and Kahoolawe Hawaii also includes 124 islets The island of Hawaii is nicknamed the Big Island because it is by far the largest island It is best known for its volcanoes Much of the island is covered in volcanic ash and lava beds Maui is nicknamed the Valley Isle because its two volcanic mountains are separated by lush land Maui’s rich red soil lines the roads and provides great land for farming The Friendly Isle Molokai is known for its friendly people Each region on the island is very different One region has mountains and high cliffs and another has dry land used mainly for cattle ranching The last region is covered with pineapple plantations Rainbow Falls on the island of Hawaii was named for the rainbow that often forms from its morning mist

Hawaii: The Aloha State — page 4 — INTRODUCTION 7 Lanai is called the Private Island because few tourists know they can visit it Oahu called the Gathering Place is the most populated island Pearl Harbor is on Oahu’s southern coast Honolulu the state’s capital is also on Oahu Kauai is nicknamed the Garden Isle because of its lush green vegetation and its many streams and waterfalls Kauai receives more rain than any of the other islands The rain has worn away much of the land and carved out Kauai’s steep canyons and cliffs Niihau is called the Forbidden Island because the public cannot visit it Niihau is private property A woman named Elizabeth Sinclair bought the island in 1864 Her descendants now live there and operate a cattle ranch that covers almost the entire island Honolulu on the island of Oahu is a lively city with many museums and art galleries The USS Arizona was sunk during the Peal Harbor Attack in 1941 A white concrete and steel structure now spans the hull of the sunken ship It was dedicated as a national memorial in 1962 QUICK FACTS Lanai was once owned by the Dole Food Company It used to be known as Pineapple Island The island of Hawaii is almost twice the size of all the other islands combined Kahoolawe does not have a nickname No one lives there It is the smallest of the islands and its land cannot support many crops For a while the U S Army Navy and Air Force used Kahoolawe for target practice

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