Hawaii - Isles

• The Big Island • Kauai • Maui •
• Oahu • Molokai • Lanai • Niihau • Kaho'olawe • 

More than 130 islands, islets, and shoals make up the Hawaiian Islands, stretching 1,600 miles across an expanse of the North Pacific. Some geologists maintain that the “Hot Spot”, located primarily under the Big Island, remains relatively stationary. According to this viewpoint, the 1,600 mile spread of the Hawaiian archipelago is due to a northwestern drifting effect  of three to five inches per year. With the center of activity under the Big Island, the Mauna Loa and Kilauea volcanoes regularly add more land to the only state in the U.S. that is literally still growing. About 30 miles southeast of the Big Island is Loihi Sea Mount, 3,000 feet below the waves. Frequent eruptions bring it closer and closer to the surface and are expected to create another island in only 10,000 years.

Together, all the Hawaiian islands constitute 6,500 square miles. The eight major islands of Hawaii stretch over 400 miles of Pacific, and from northwest to southeast include: Ni’ihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, Lanai, Kahoolawe, and Hawaii (known as the Big Island.)

The Big Island has an area of 4035 sq. miles (and is 93 miles long and 76 miles wide). The area called South Point is the southernmost point in the USA.

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The island of Hawaii is generally referred to as the “Big Island” so as to distinguish it from the state of Hawaii. This name is given because of its enormous size in comparison to the other islands in the chain. The land mass of the "Big Island” is nearly twice the size of all the other Hawaiian Islands combined. Landscapes are extremely varied and include desolate lava flows, lush coastal valleys, rolling pastures, dry lands and rainforests.

The “Big Island” is the youngest island and the only one still growing. The volcano, Kilauea, has added over 300 acres to the island just since its latest series of eruptions began in 1983.

The mountains create a huge barrier that blocks the moist northeasterly trade winds, dumping vast rainfall on the windward coast (eastern side) and depriving the leeward (western side) of the Big Island making it its driest region. The Kona and Kohala coasts, on this sunny western side, have the island’s best beaches. The windward coast is humid and tropical with rainforests, deep ravines and impressive waterfalls.

Some of the highlights of the Big Island include the Parker Ranch, the largest privately owned cattle ranch in the US, as well as many noteworthy historical sites. The Big Island boasts The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, with its live volcanoes, Hilo (the oldest city in Hawaii), and Kona on the dry, sunny west coast that attracts the visitors.

Mauna Kea at 13,796 feet is the highest point in the Hawaiian Islands. It extends 19,680 feet below sea level to the ocean floor and when measured from its base is the highest mountain in the world.

Rainfall and temperatures vary more with location than with the seasons. The leeward northwest coast between Lapakahi and Waikoloa is the driest region in the state. Kawaihae, in the center of this strip, averages less than 10 inches of rain a year.

Elevation makes enough of a difference that even within the city of Hilo, located on the coast and climbing into the foothills, annual rainfall ranges from 130 to 200 inches. On the other side of the island, on the beaches of Kailua-Kona, it’s only 25 inches.

On the windward side of Mauna Kea, near the 2500-foot elevation, 300 inches of rain falls each year. So much rain is squeezed out of the clouds as they rise up Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa that only about 15 inches of precipitation reaches their summits, much of it as snow. Heavy subtropical winter rainstorms in Hilo occasionally bring blizzards to the mountains, as low as the 9000-foot level. One can be sunning oneself on a beach while gazing up at the snow-topped Mauna Kea.

The Big Island has some inviting small towns that remain unchanged by tourism. It is an island big on space. It attracts the more adventurous tourist and also has many alternative folks living organically off the land.
 
The Big Island’s official flower is the ohia lehua, a native tree that flourishes around lava flows and it’s official color is red, though it does bloom in other colors as well.

Major Attractions
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Akaka Falls, Pu'uhonau o Honaunau National Historical Park (City of Refuge), Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site, and Lapakahi State Historic Park. Additional activities include viewing petroglyph sites, deep-sea fishing, cultural events such as the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival and the Kona Coffee Festival, and sports events such as the Ironman Triathlon.

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• The Big Island • Kauai • Maui •
• Oahu • Molokai • Lanai • Niihau • Kaho'olawe •