About Hawaii

The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island ( in English and or in Hawaiian), is a volcanic island (the eastern-most in the Hawaiian islands chain) in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of 4,028 square miles (10,432 km²), it is larger than all of the other Hawaiian Islands combined and is the largest island in the United States.

Hawaii is said to have been named for Hawaiiloa, a Polynesian navigator who first discovered it. However, other accounts attribute the name to the legendary land or realm of Hawaiki, a place from which the Polynesians originated (see also Manua), the place where they go in the afterlife, the realm of the gods.

The Island of Hawaii is administered as the County of Hawaii within the state of Hawaii. The county seat is Hilo.

Kahoolawe ( in English and in Hawaiian) is the smallest of the 8 main volcanic islands in the Hawaiian Islands. It is located 7 miles (11.2 km) southwest of Maui and southeast of L?nai and is long by across. Total area is . The highest point is the crater of Lua Makika at the summit of Puu Moaulanui, which is above sea level. The island is relatively dry (average annual rainfall is less than ) because the low elevation fails to generate much orographic precipitation from the northeastern trade winds and it is located in the rain shadow of Maui's high East Maui Volcano (Haleakal?). More than one quarter of the island has been eroded down to saprolitic hardpan.

Kahoolawe has always been sparsely populated, due to a lack of freshwater. Beginning in World War II, the island was used as a training ground and bombing range by the United States military. After decades of protests, the Navy ended live-fire training on Kahoolawe in 1990, and the island was transferred to the State of Hawaii in 1994. The Hawaii State Legislature established the Kahoolawe Island Reserve to restore and oversee the island and its surrounding waters. Today Kahoolawe can be used only for native Hawaiian cultural, spiritual, and subsistence purposes.

The United States Census Bureau defines Kahoolawe as Block Group 9, Census Tract 303.02 of Maui County, Hawaii. The island has no permanent residents.b=50|l=en|t=4001|zf=0.0|ms=sel_00dec|dw=0.3235256323641746|dh=0.22787245954044197|dt=gov.census.aff.domain.map.EnglishMapExtent|if=gif|cx=-156.5954874499071|cy=20.568734378783724|zl=5|pz=5|bo=318:317:316:314:313:323:319|bl=362:393:358:357:356:355:354|ft=350:349:335:389:388:332:331|fl=381:403:204:380:369:379:368|g=14000US15009031600&-PANEL_ID=p_dt_geo_map&-_lang=en&-geo_id=15000US150090303029&-CONTEXT=dt&-format=&-search_results=14000US15009030302&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U Block Group 9, Census Tract 303.02, Maui County United States Census Bureau

Molokai or Molokai ( in English and in Hawaiian)) is an island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) in size with a land area of , making it the fifth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands and the 27th largest island in the United States. It lies east of Oahu across the 25-mile (40 km) wide Kaiwi Channel and north of L?nai, separated from it by the Kalohi Channel. The lights of Honolulu are visible at night from the west end of Molokai, while nearby L?nai and Maui are clearly visible from anywhere along the south shore of the island.

Molokai is known as the long time residence of Father Damien de Veuster, a Belgian priest and canonized Roman Catholic saint who cared for sufferers of Hansen's Disease, also known as leprosy. Historically, a small north shore colony on Molokai, Kalaupapa, was a refuge for sufferers of Hansen's Disease. There are no active cases of Hansen's Disease on Molokai today. Those who continue to live in the settlement are patients who choose to stay after the segregation policy was lifted in 1969. "Kalaupapa National Historical Park - Hansen's Disease Patients at Kalawao and Kalaupapa (U.S. National Park Service)." U.S. National Park Service - Experience Your America. Web. 19 Nov. 2009. .

Oahu ( in English) or Oahu ( in Hawaiian), known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the State of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast. Including small close-in offshore islands such as Ford Island and the islands in Kaneohe Bay and off the eastern coast, it has a total land area of , making it the 20th largest island in the United States. It is also the most populous island in the Western Hemisphere that neither contains a national capital nor possesses a road or rail connection to a national capital. In greatest dimension, this volcanic island is long and across. The length of the shoreline is . The island is the result of two separate shield volcanoes: Waianae and Koolau, with a broad "valley" or saddle (the central Oahu Plain) between them. The highest point is Mt. Ka'ala in the Waianae Range, rising to above sea level.

Kauai or Kauai (Known as Tauai in the ancient Kauai dialect)( in English and or in Hawaiian) is the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle", Kauai lies 105 miles (170 kilometers) across the Kauai Channel, northwest of Oahu.

The United States Census Bureau defines Kauai as Census Tracts 401 through 409 of Kauai County, Hawaii, which is all of the county except for the islands of Ka?ula, Lehua, and Niihau. The 2000 census population of Kauai (the island) was 58,303.b=50|l=en|t=4001|zf=0.0|ms=sel_00dec|dw=0.32574415146711605|dh=0.22784596312794334|dt=gov.census.aff.domain.map.EnglishMapExtent|if=gif|cx=-160.54887078557877|cy=21.657999272138042|zl=5|pz=5|bo=318:317:316:314:313:323:319|bl=362:393:358:357:356:355:354|ft=350:349:335:389:388:332:331|fl=381:403:204:380:369:379:368|g=01000US&-show_geoid=Y Census Tracts 401 through 409, Kauai County United States Census Bureau

Niihau or Niihau ( in English and in Hawaiian) is the smallest of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii, having an area of . Known as the "Forbidden Isle," Niihau lies across the Kaulakahi Channel, southwest of Kauai. The United States Census Bureau defines Niihau (with the neighboring small island of Lehua) as Census Tract 410 of Kauai County, Hawaii. Its 2000 census population was 160;[http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-show_geoid=Y&-tree_id=4001&-_caller=geoselect&-context=dt&-errMsg=&-all_geo_types=N&-mt_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_P001&-redoLog=true&-transpose=N&-search_map_config=|b=50|l=en|t=4001|zf=0.0|ms=sel_00dec|dw=0.9772324544013481|dh=0.6835378893838299|dt=gov.census.aff.domain.map.EnglishMapExtent|if=gif|cx=-160.12894285711306|cy=21.907113449251586|zl=6|pz=6|bo=318:317:316:314:313:323:319|bl=362:393:358:357:356:355:354|ft=350:349:335:389:388:332:331|fl=381:403:204:380:369:379:368|g=15000US150090303029&-PANEL_ID=p_dt_geo_map&-_lang=en&-geo_id=14000US15007041000&-CONTEXT=dt&-format=&-search_results=15000US150090303029&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U Census Tract 410, Kaua'i County] United States Census Bureau as of June 2009, the population was 130.

In 1864, the island was purchased from the Kingdom of Hawaii by the Robinson family and has been privately owned since that time. It is currently run by Bruce and Keith Robinson. Niihau is generally off-limits to all but relatives of the island's owners, U.S. Navy personnel, government officials and invited guests. Tourists are able to visit the island through a limited number of supervised tours, including beach, diving, hiking, and hunting safaris. Niihau is also referred to as the "Mystery Island," or the "Distant Isle."

The island is historically notable as the location for the Niihau Incident, in which a Japanese fighter pilot crashed on the island and terrorized its residents for about a week following the World War II attack on Pearl Harbor. Commercially, the people of Niihau are known internationally for their gemlike lei p?p? (shell lei) craftsmanship.