Some Interesting Facts About Hawaii

Some Interesting Facts About Hawaii

Hawaii is the only state of the United States that:

• is not located in the continent of North America
• grows coffee
• is completely surrounded by water
• is an archipelago
• has a royal palace
• does not have a straight line in its state boundary
• has no snakes

Highest mountains?

Mauna Kea rises 13,796 feet and Mauna Loa 13,679 feet above sea level. The mean elevation of all the islands is 3,030 feet above sea level. Hawaii’s tallest mountain, Mauna Kea, stands at 13,796 ft but is taller than Mount Everest if followed to the base of the mountain, which, lying at the floor of the Pacific Ocean, rises about 33,500 ft.

Size in Comparison to Other States?

Hawaii is bigger in land mass than 7 other states.

Land

Hawaii’s total land area is 6,423.4 square miles.

Coast

Hawaii’s total coastline is 750 miles.

Highest Waterfall?

The highest waterfall is Kahiwa, a 1,750-foot (533 m) cascade on the island of Molokai.

Hawaii’s Main Islands Biggest to Smallest in Land Area?

• Big Island of Hawaii: 4,028.0 miles²
• Maui: 727.2 miles²
• Oahu: 596.7 miles²
• Kauai: 552.3 miles²
• Molokai: 260 miles²
• Lanai: 140.5 miles²
• Niihau: 69.5 miles²
• Kahoolawe: 44.6 miles²

Elevation of Hawaii’s Highest Mountains on Each Island:

Big Island of Hawaii:                   

• Mauna Kea – 13,796 feet
• Mauna Loa – 13,679 feet

Maui:                  

• Haleakala (Red Hill) – 10,023 feet

Oahu:                  

• Kaala – 4,003 feet

Kauai:       

• Kawaikini – 5,243 feet

Molokai:             

• Kamakou – 4,961 feet

Lanai:                 

• Lanaihale – 3,366 feet

Niihau:               

• Paniau – 1,250 feet

Kahoolawe:                 

• Puu Moaulanui – 1,483 feet

More Facts

• Hawaii is the most isolated population center on the face of the earth. Hawaii is 2,390 miles from California; 3,850 miles from Japan; 4,900 miles from China; and 5,280 miles from the Philippines.
• Hawaii is the only state in the union where coffee is grown.
• More than 1/3^rd of the world’s supply of pineapples comes from Hawaii.
• There are only 12 letters in the Hawaiian alphabet:
• Vowels: A, E, I, O, U; Consonants: H, K, L, M, N, P, W
• Hawaii is the widest state from east to west.
• Honolulu’s zenith star, (the star that rises directly above it) is Arcturus. The Hawaiians called it Hokule’a.
• All of Hawaii is the result of underwater volcanoes that erupted thousands of years ago.
• Hawaii was the 50th state admitted to the union on August 20th, 1959.
• Highest recorded temperature in Hawaii ever was only 96 degrees F.
• The lowest temperature ever? 56 degrees F. (under 3,000 feet altitude)
• Honolulu is the largest city in the world, having the longest borders. The reason is the state constitution declares all unnamed Hawaiian islands as being part of Honolulu. This makes it 1,500 miles long or more distance than halfway across the 48 contiguous states.
• Honolulu is the nation’s 11th largest metropolitan area.
• More than 100 world-renowned beaches surround Honolulu.
• Iolani Palace on Oahu is the only royal palace in the United States.
• The world’s largest wind generator is on the island of Oahu. The windmill has two blades 400 feet long on the top of a tower twenty stories high.
• The island of Oahu draws more visitors than any of the other islands.
• One-third of the state’s best surfing beaches are on Oahu.
• On Maui, Haleakala Crater is the world’s largest dormant volcano.
• Molokai Island has the world’s highest sea cliffs, Hawaii’s longest waterfall, and the largest white sand beach in the state.
• On Lanai, Hulope Bay is a marine preserve and considered one of the best diving spots in the world.
• Kahoolawe was used for target practice by U.S. Navy and Air Force fighter planes and bombers. No one is allowed to go ashore without permission. The island consists of an uninhabited area of 45 square miles.
• The author of this book had a chance to go while stationed in the Air Force, on a clean-up detail, but instead assigned someone else to go in his place!
• At 800,000 years the Big Island is the youngest of the island chain. However, it was the first island discovered by voyaging Polynesians.
• Kilauea volcano on Big Island is the world’s most active volcano.
• On Big Island, Ka Lae is the southernmost point in the United States. It is located at 18:54:49 N 155:41:00 W.   There is a constant 27 knots per hour wind blowing east to west, 24 hours per day and 365 days per year.
• Most of the world’s macadamia nuts are grown on right here on the Big Island of Hawaii.
• Big Island is home to the world’s largest telescope and more scientific astral observatories in one place than anywhere else in the world.