All About Hawaii
Hawaii is a constituent state of the United States of America, consisting of a group of volcanic islands in the central Pacific Ocean. The islands have an area of 6,459 square miles (16,729 square kilometres). The capital city of Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, lies 2,397 miles (3,857 kilometres) from San Francisco to the east and 5,293 miles (8,516 kilometres) from Manila, in the Philippines, to the west.
Hawaii was characterized by Mark Twain as ''the loveliest fleet of islands that lies anchored in any ocean.'' The name is thought to derive from Hawaiki, the former name of Raiatea, one of the Society Islands, from which Polynesians sailed in voyaging canoes to settle after AD 1000. On Aug. 21, 1959, they became the 50th U.S. state. Hawaii is economically vigorous, with diversified agriculture and manufacturing; strategically important to the global defense system of the United States; a Pacific Basin transportation and cultural centre, often called the Crossroads of the Pacific; and a major tourist mecca. Hawaiian activities of national and international importance include research and development in oceanography, geophysics, astronomy, satellite communications, and biomedicine.
The land area of the state of Hawaii consists of the tops of a chain of emerged volcanic mountains that form eight major islands and 124 islets, stretching in a 1,500-mile crescent from Kure Island in the west to the island of Hawaii in the east, with a combined land area of 6,471 square miles (16,759 square kilometres). With the exception of Midway, a U.S. naval reservation near the western end of the archipelago, the leeward coral atolls and central lava islets - forming a total of only 3 1/4 square miles - are in the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge. The eight major islands at the eastern end of the chain are, from west to east, Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Maui, and Hawaii. Volcanic activity has become dormant, with the exception of the volcanoes of Mauna Loa and Kilauea on the easternmost and largest island, Hawaii, where spectacular eruptions and lava flows take place from time to time. The highest Hawaiian mountains are Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, reaching 13,796 feet (4,205 metres) and 13,678 feet (4,169 metres) above sea level, respectively.
Heavy rainfall in mountainous areas produces an extremely voluminous runoff, which is responsible for the erosion that forms the numerous grooves, ridges, and V-shaped valleys characteristic of the older volcanic islands such as Kauai and Oahu. The action of rain combined with waves has had a particularly dramatic effect on the more exposed windward sections of the islands. The powerful Pacific surf, churning and crashing against the fringing coral shelves and the lava shorelines, has carried minute shells onto the shore and reduced coral and large shells to sand, creating the state's famous expanses of beach.
Hawaii ranks relatively low among the states in terms of personal income, farm products sold, value of manufacturing shipments, retail sales, and bank deposits. A major problem in Hawaii is the high cost of living, due in large part to Hawaii's insularity and dependence on imports. Transportation costs are included in the prices of nearly all consumer goods. As the population increases, housing grows increasingly difficult to acquire, and it is expensive when compared with housing costs in many of the mainland states. Building materials, most of which are imported, are expensive. Residential land is limited and highly priced, since much of the property, notably on Oahu, is owned by corporations and trusts. More than half the land in the state is owned by private individuals or corporations, although the state itself, holding more than one-third of the land, is the largest single landowner. State and county governments are major employers. Honolulu is the regional headquarters of the federal government, which owns one-sixth of the land.
Tourism is Hawaii's largest industry. Expansion has been particularly rapid since World War II, and the growth has resulted in part from continued improvements in transportation and the stimulus provided by the state government and local businesses. The majority of visitors come from the U.S. mainland, Canada, Australia, and countries of the Far East, particularly Japan. About 60 percent of the hotel units are on Oahu, chiefly in Waikiki and the adjacent Ala Moana area. Visitors have access to a wide range of recreational and cultural facilities, such as golf courses, tennis courts, parks, surfing sites, beaches, restaurants, theatres, musical attractions, and sporting events. Tourism has helped Hawaii to become the centre of the international market of the Pacific Basin. Capital investment by U.S. mainland and foreign companies has increased tremendously.
Ocean-surface transportation is Hawaii's lifeline, and Honolulu Harbor, with its extensive docks, warehouses, and storage sheds, is the centre of Hawaiian shipping. A large percentage of the cargo ships ply between Hawaii and California ports, a few between Hawaii and the East Coast of the United States via the Panama Canal, and others from western Pacific ports. Around-the-world passenger ships carry visitors through Honolulu, and there is an interisland luxury cruise line. The majority of voyagers to and from Hawaii travel by air, as do nearly all interisland passengers. The Honolulu International Airport, on Oahu; General Lyman Field at Hilo, on Hawaii; and the Kahului Airport, on Maui, are the major civilian airports capable of serving large-jet traffic. There are several smaller airports among the islands and a number of small private airfields. Military authorities maintain a number of airports throughout the state.
