Hawaiian Islands - wikipedia Hawaiian Islands For the list of individual islands belonging to the state of Hawaii, see List of islands of Hawaii. Hawaiian Islands Native name : Mokupuni o Hawai'i True color satellite image of the Hawaiian Islands Map of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of islands that stretches 1,500 mi ( 2,400 km ) in a northwesterly direction from the southern tip of the island of Hawai ʻi. Geography Location North Pacific Ocean Highest point Mauna Kea 13,796 ft ( 4,205 m ) Administration United States ( Hawaii, Midway Atoll ) Demographics Population 1,450,000 ( 2015 ) The Hawaiian Islands ( Hawaiian : Mokupuni o Hawai'i ) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles ( 2,400 kilometers ) from the island of Hawai ʻi in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll. Formerly the group was known to Europeans and Americans as the `` Sandwich Islands '', a name chosen by James Cook in honor of the then First Lord of the Admiralty John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. The contemporary name is derived from the name of the largest island, Hawaii Island. The Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown in 1893. The islands were subsequently put under the control of a republic, which the United States annexed in 1898. The U.S. state of Hawaii now occupies the archipelago almost in its entirety ( including the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands ), with the sole exception of Midway Island, which instead separately belongs to the United States as one of its unincorporated territories within the United States Minor Outlying Islands. The Hawaiian Islands are the exposed peaks of a great undersea mountain range known as the Hawaiian -- Emperor seamount chain, formed by volcanic activity over a hotspot in the Earth 's mantle. The islands are about 1,860 miles ( 3,000 km ) from the nearest continent. Contents 1 Islands and reefs 1.1 Main islands 1.2 Smaller islands, atolls, reefs 1.3 Islets 2 Geology 2.1 Earthquakes 3 Tsunamis 4 Ecology 5 National Monument 6 Climate 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading Islands and reefs Main article : History of Hawaii Captain James Cook visited the islands on January 18, 1778 and named them the `` Sandwich Islands '' in honor of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, who was one of his sponsors as the First Lord of the Admiralty. This name was in use until the 1840s, when the local name `` Hawaii '' gradually began to take precedence. The Hawaiian Islands have a total land area of 6,423.4 square miles ( 16,636.5 km ). Except for Midway, which is an unincorporated territory of the United States, these islands and islets are administered as Hawaii -- the 50th state of the United States. Main Islands The eight main islands of Hawaii ( also called the Hawaiian Windward Islands ) are listed here. All except Kahoolawe are inhabited. Island Nickname Area Population ( as of 2010 ) Density Highest point Elevation Age ( Ma ) Location Hawai ʻi The Big Island 1 4,028.0 sq mi ( 10,432.5 km ) 185,079 4 45.948 / sq mi ( 17.7407 / km ) Mauna Kea 1 13,796 ft ( 4,205 m ) 0.4 19 ° 34 ′ N 155 ° 30 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 19.567 ° N 155.500 ° W ﻿ / 19.567 ; - 155.500 ﻿ ( Hawaii ) Maui The Valley Isle 2 727.2 sq mi ( 1,883.4 km ) 144,444 2 198.630 / sq mi ( 76.692 / km ) Haleakalā 2 10,023 ft ( 3,055 m ) 1.3 -- 0.8 20 ° 48 ′ N 156 ° 20 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 20.800 ° N 156.333 ° W ﻿ / 20.800 ; - 156.333 ﻿ ( Maui ) Oʻahu The Gathering Place 3 596.7 sq mi ( 1,545.4 km ) 953,207 1 1,597.46 / sq mi ( 616.78 / km ) Mount Ka ʻala 5 4,003 ft ( 1,220 m ) 3.7 -- 2.6 21 ° 28 ′ N 157 ° 59 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 21.467 ° N 157.983 ° W ﻿ / 21.467 ; - 157.983 ﻿ ( Oahu ) Kaua ʻi The Garden Isle 4 552.3 sq mi ( 1,430.5 km ) 66,921 3 121.168 / sq mi ( 46.783 / km ) Kawaikini 3 5,243 ft ( 1,598 m ) 5.1 22 ° 05 ′ N 159 ° 30 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 22.083 ° N 159.500 ° W ﻿ / 22.083 ; - 159.500 ﻿ ( Kauai ) Moloka ʻi The Friendly Isle 5 260.0 sq mi ( 673.4 km ) 7,345 5 28.250 / sq mi ( 10.9074 / km ) Kamakou 4 4,961 ft ( 1,512 m ) 1.9 -- 1.8 21 ° 08 ′ N 157 ° 02 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 21.133 ° N 157.033 ° W ﻿ / 21.133 ; - 157.033 ﻿ ( Molokai ) Lāna ʻi The Pineapple Isle 6 140.5 sq mi ( 363.9 km ) 3,135 6 22.313 / sq mi ( 8.615 / km ) Lāna ʻihale 6 3,366 ft ( 1,026 m ) 1.3 20 ° 50 ′ N 156 ° 56 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 20.833 ° N 156.933 ° W ﻿ / 20.833 ; - 156.933 ﻿ ( Lanai ) Ni ʻihau The Forbidden Isle 7 69.5 sq mi ( 180.0 km ) 170 7 2.45 / sq mi ( 0.944 / km ) Mount Pānī ʻau 8 1,250 ft ( 381 m ) 4.9 21 ° 54 ′ N 160 ° 10 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 21.900 ° N 160.167 ° W ﻿ / 21.900 ; - 160.167 ﻿ ( Niihau ) Kaho ʻolawe The Target Isle 8 44.6 sq mi ( 115.5 km ) 0 8 0 Pu ʻu Moaulanui 7 1,483 ft ( 452 m ) 1.0 20 ° 33 ′ N 156 ° 36 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 20.550 ° N 156.600 ° W ﻿ / 20.550 ; - 156.600 ﻿ ( Kahoolawe ) Smaller Islands, atolls, reefs Hawaiian Islands from space. Smaller islands, atolls, and reefs ( all west of Ni ʻihau are uninhabited ) form the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, or Hawaiian Leeward Islands : Nihoa ( Mokumana ) Necker ( Mokumanamana ) French Frigate Shoals ( Kānemiloha ʻi ) Gardner Pinnacles ( Pūhāhonu ) Maro Reef ( Nalukākala ) Laysan ( Kauō ) Lisianski Island ( Papa ʻāpoho ) Pearl and Hermes Atoll ( Holoikauaua ) Midway Atoll ( Pihemanu ) Kure Atoll ( Mokupāpapa ) Islets 3 - D perspective view of the southeastern Hawaiian Islands, with the white summits of Mauna Loa ( 4,170 m or 13,680 ft high ) and Mauna Kea ( 4,206 m or 13,799 ft high ). The islands are the tops of massive volcanoes, the bulk of which lie below the sea surface. Ocean depths are colored from violet ( 5,750 m or 18,860 ft deep northeast of Maui ) and indigo to light gray ( shallowest ). Historical lava flows are shown in red, erupting from the summits and rift zones of Mauna Loa, Kilauea, and Hualalai volcanoes on Hawai ʻi. The state of Hawaii counts 137 `` islands '' in the Hawaiian chain. This number includes all minor islands and islets, or very small island, offshore of the main islands ( listed above ) and individual islets in each atoll. These are just a few : Ford Island ( Moku ʻumeʻume ) Lehua Ka'ula Kaohikaipu Mānana Mōkōlea Rock Nā Mokulua Molokini Mokoli ʻi Moku Manu Moku Ola ( Coconut Island, Hawaii ) Moku o Loʻe ( Coconut Island, Oahu ) Sand Island Grass Island A composite satellite image from NASA of the Hawaiian Islands taken from outer space. Click on the image for a larger view that shows the main islands and the extended archipelago. Geology Main article : Hawaii hotspot See also : List of Hawaii rivers This chain of islands, or archipelago, developed as the Pacific Plate moved slowly northwestward over a hotspot in the Earth 's mantle at a rate of approximately 32 miles ( 51 km ) per million years. Thus, the southeast island is volcanically active, whereas the islands on the northwest end of the archipelago are older and typically smaller, due to longer exposure to erosion. The age of the archipelago has been estimated using potassium - argon dating methods. From this study and others, it is estimated that the northwestern most island, Kure Atoll, is the oldest at approximately 28 million years ( Ma ) ; while the southeastern most island, Hawai ʻi, is approximately 0.4 Ma ( 400,000 years ). The only active volcanism in the last 200 years has been on the southeastern island, Hawai ʻi, and on the submerged but growing volcano to the extreme southeast, Lo ʻihi. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory of the USGS documents recent volcanic activity and provides images and interpretations of the volcanism. Almost all of the magma of the hotspot has the composition of basalt, and so the Hawaiian volcanoes are composed almost entirely of this igneous rock. There is very little coarser - grained gabbro and diabase. Nephelinite is exposed on the islands but is extremely rare. The majority of eruptions in Hawai ʻi are Hawaiian - type eruptions because basaltic magma is relatively fluid compared with magmas typically involved in more explosive eruptions, such as the andesitic magmas that produce some of the spectacular and dangerous eruptions around the margins of the Pacific basin. Eruptions from the Hawaii hotspot left a trail of underwater mountains across the Pacific over millions of years, called the Emperor Seamounts Hawai ʻi island ( the Big Island ) is the biggest and youngest island in the chain, built from five volcanoes. Mauna Loa, taking up over half of the Big Island, is the largest shield volcano on the Earth. The measurement from sea level to summit is more than 2.5 miles ( 4 km ), from sea level to sea floor about 3.1 miles ( 5 km ). Earthquakes Main article : List of earthquakes in Hawaii The Hawaiian Islands have many earthquakes, generally caused by volcanic activity. Most of the early earthquake monitoring took place in Hilo, by missionaries Titus Coan, Sarah J. Lyman and her family. From 1833 to 1896, approximately 4 or 5 earthquakes were reported per year. Hawaii accounted for 7.3 % of the United States ' reported earthquakes with a magnitude 3.5 or greater from 1974 to 2003, with a total 1533 earthquakes. Hawaii ranked as the state with the third most earthquakes over this time period, after Alaska and California. On October 15, 2006, there was an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 off the northwest coast of the island of Hawaii, near the Kona area of the big island. The initial earthquake was followed approximately five minutes later by a magnitude 5.7 aftershock. Minor - to - moderate damage was reported on most of the Big Island. Several major roadways became impassable from rock slides, and effects were felt as far away as Honolulu, Oahu, nearly 150 miles ( 240 km ) from the epicenter. Power outages lasted for several hours to days. Several water mains ruptured. No deaths or life - threatening injuries were reported. Earthquakes are monitored by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory run by the USGS. Tsunamis Aftermath of the 1960 Chilean tsunami in Hilo, Hawai ʻi, where the tsunami left 61 people dead and 282 seriously injured. The waves reached 35 feet ( 11 m ) high. The Hawaiian Islands are subject to tsunamis, great waves that strike the shore. Tsunamis are most often caused by earthquakes somewhere in the Pacific. The waves produced by the earthquakes travel at speeds of 400 -- 500 miles per hour ( 600 -- 800 km / h ) and can affect coastal regions thousands of miles ( kilometers ) away. Tsunamis may also originate from the Hawaiian Islands. Explosive volcanic activity can cause tsunamis. The island of Moloka ʻi had a catastrophic collapse or debris avalanche over a million years ago ; this underwater landslide likely caused tsunamis. The Hilina Slump on the island of Hawai ʻi is another potential place for a large landslide and resulting tsunami. The city of Hilo on the Big Island has been most affected by tsunamis, where the in - rushing water is accentuated by the shape of Hilo Bay. Coastal cities have tsunami warning sirens. A tsunami resulting from an earthquake in Chile hit the islands on February 27, 2010. It was relatively minor, but local emergency management officials utilized the latest technology and ordered evacuations in preparation for a possible major event. The Governor declared it a `` good drill '' for the next major event. A tsunami resulting from an earthquake in Japan hit the islands on March 11, 2011. It was relatively minor, but local officials ordered evacuations in preparation for a possible major event. The tsunami caused about $30.1 million in damages. Ecology See also : Endemism in the Hawaiian Islands The endemic plant and animal species of the Hawaiian Islands developed in nearly complete isolation over about 70 million years. Prior to human arrival, the only native mammals were the Hawaiian hoary bat and the Hawaiian monk seal. Human contact, first by Polynesians, introduced new trees, other plants and animals. These included voracious species such as rats and pigs, who took a heavy toll on native birds and invertebrates that evolved in the absence of such predators. The growing population also brought deforestation, forest degradation, treeless grasslands, and environmental degradation. As a result, many species which depended on forest habitats and food became extinct. As humans cleared land for farming, monocultural crop production replaced multi-species systems. The arrival of the Europeans had a more significant impact, with the promotion of large - scale single - species export agriculture and livestock grazing. This led to increased clearing of forests, and the development of towns, adding many more species to the list of extinct animals of the Hawaiian Islands. As of 2009, many of the remaining endemic species are considered endangered. See also : List of animal species introduced to the Hawaiian Islands and List of invasive plant species in Hawaii National Monument Wikinews has related news : Bush proclaims Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a National Monument On June 15, 2006, President George W. Bush issued a public proclamation creating Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument under the Antiquities Act of 1906. The Monument encompasses the northwestern Hawaiian Islands and surrounding waters, forming the largest marine wildlife reserve in the world. In August 2010, UNESCO 's World Heritage Committee added Papahānaumokuākea to its list of World Heritage Site s. On August 26, 2016, President Barack Obama greatly expanded Papahānaumokuākea, quadrupling it from its original size. Climate Main article : Climate of Hawaii The climate of the Hawaiian Islands is tropical but it experiences many different climates, depending on altitude and weather. The islands receive most rainfall from the trade winds on their north and east flanks ( the windward side ) as a result of orographic precipitation. Coastal areas in general and especially the south and west flanks or leeward sides, tend to be drier. In general, the lowlands of Hawaiian Islands receive most of their precipitation during the winter months ( October to April ). Drier conditions generally prevail from May to September. The tropical storms, and occasional hurricanes, tend to occur from July through November. See also Geography portal Oceania portal United States portal Hawaii portal Mountains portal Volcanoes portal Hawaii Inter-Island Cable System Index of Hawaii - related articles List of birds of Hawaii List of fish of Hawaii List of mountain peaks of Hawaii List of Ultras of Hawaii Maritime fur trade Outline of Hawaii References Jump up ^ Kent, Noel J. ( 1993 ). Hawaii : Islands Under the Influence. University of Hawaii Press. pp. x. ISBN 0 - 8248 - 1552 - 1. Jump up ^ Macdonald, Abbott, and Peterson, 1984 Jump up ^ James Cook and James King ( 1784 ). A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean : Undertaken, by the Command of His Majesty, for Making Discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere, to Determine the Position and Extent of the West Side of North America, Its Distance from Asia, and the Practicability of a Northern Passage to Europe : Performed Under the Direction of Captains Cook, Clerke, and Gore, in His Majesty 's Ships the Resolution and Discovery, in the Years 1776, 1777, 1778, 1779, and 1780. 2. Nicol and Cadell, London. p. 222. Jump up ^ Clement, Russell. `` From Cook to the 1840 Constitution : The Name Change from Sandwich to Hawaiian Islands '' ( PDF ). University of Hawai'i at Manoa Hamilton Library. Retrieved June 17, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Guide to State and Local Census Geography -- Hawaii '' ( PDF ). Washington, DC : U.S. Census Bureau. 2013 - 09 - 09. pp. 1 -- 2. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 16. Jump up ^ `` Hawaii Population 2016 ( Demographics, Maps, Graphs ) ''. worldpopulationreview.com. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 12. Jump up ^ Blay, Chuck, and Siemers, Robert. Kauai ' 's Geologic History : A Simplified Guide. Kaua'i : TEOK Investigations, 2004. ISBN 9780974472300. ( Cited in `` Hawaiian Encyclopedia : The Islands ''. Retrieved June 20, 2012. ) Jump up ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System : Island of Hawai ʻi Jump up ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System : Maui Island Jump up ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System : Oʻahu Island Jump up ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System : Kaua ʻi Island Jump up ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System : Moloka ʻi Island Jump up ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System : Lāna ʻi Island Jump up ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System : Ni ʻihau Island Jump up ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System : Kaho ʻolawe Island Jump up ^ `` Hawaii : Image of the Day ''. nasa.gov. Retrieved 4 June 2015. Jump up ^ `` Hawai'i Facts & Figures '' ( PDF ). state web site. State of Hawaii Dept. of Business, Economic Development & Tourism. December 2009. Retrieved 2010 - 05 - 23. Jump up ^ `` Tectonics, geochronology, and origin of the Hawaiian - Emperor Volcanic Chain '' ( PDF ). The Geology of North America, Volume N : The Eastern Pacific Ocean and Hawaii. The Geology Society of America. 1989. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2011 - 06 - 11. Retrieved 2011 - 01 - 17. Jump up ^ McDougall, IAN ; Swanson, D.A. ( 1972 ). `` Potassium - Argon Ages of Lavas from the Hawi and Pololu Volcanic Series, Kohala Volcano, Hawaii ''. Geological Society of America Bulletin. Geology Society of American Bulletin. 83 ( 12 ) : 3731 -- 3738. doi : 10.1130 / 0016 - 7606 ( 1972 ) 83 ( 3731 : PAOLFT ) 2.0.CO ; 2. Retrieved 2011 - 01 - 17. Jump up ^ `` Petrography and K - Ar Ages of Dredged Volcanic Rocks from the Western Hawaiian Ridge and the Southern Emperor Seamount Chain ''. 86 ( 7 ). Geology Society of America Bulletin. 1975 : 991 -- 998. doi : 10.1130 / 0016 - 7606 ( 1975 ) 86. Retrieved 2011 - 01 - 17. Jump up ^ `` Mauna Loa Earth 's Largest Volcano ''. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory web site. USGS. February 2006. Retrieved 2009 - 12 - 09. Jump up ^ `` Hawaii Earthquake History ''. Earthquake Hazards Program. United States Geological Survey. 1972. Retrieved 2009 - 12 - 09. Jump up ^ `` Top Earthquake States ''. Earthquake Hazards Program. United States Geological Survey. 2003. Retrieved 2009 - 12 - 09. Jump up ^ Trusdell, Frank A. ; Chadderton, Amy ; Hinchliffe, Graham ; Hara, Andrew ; Patenge, Brent ; Weber, Tom ( 2012 - 11 - 15 ). `` Tohoku - Oki Earthquake Tsunami Runup and Inundation Data for Sites Around the Island of Hawai'i '' ( PDF ). USGS. pp. 3 -- 4. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 11. Jump up ^ `` Hawaiian Monk Seal ''. statesymbolsusa.org. Retrieved 4 June 2015. Jump up ^ Craig R. Elevitch and Kim M. Wilkinson, eds. ( 2000 ). Agroforestry Guides for Pacific Islands. Permanent Agriculture Resources. ISBN 0 - 9702544 - 0 - 7. CS1 maint : Uses editors parameter ( link ) Jump up ^ Barnett, Cynthia ( August 26, 2016 ). `` Hawaii Is Now Home to an Ocean Reserve Twice the Size of Texas ''. National Geographic. Retrieved September 2, 2016. Jump up ^ `` 21 sites added to Unesco World Heritage list -- Wikinews, the free news source ''. en.wikinews.org. Retrieved 2017 - 03 - 28. Jump up ^ Saltzstein, Dan ( 2010 - 08 - 04 ). `` Unesco Adds 21 Sites to World Heritage List ''. New York Times. Retrieved 2017 - 03 - 28. Jump up ^ `` World Heritage Committee inscribes a total of 21 new sites on UNESCO World Heritage List ''. whc.unesco.org. 2010 - 08 - 02. Retrieved 2017 - 03 - 28. Jump up ^ Cocke, Sophie ( 2016 - 08 - 25 ). `` Obama expands Papahanaumokuakea marine reserve ; plans Oahu trip ''. Honolulu Star Advertiser. Retrieved 2017 - 03 - 28. Jump up ^ `` Fact Sheet : President Obama to Create the World 's Largest Marine Protected Area ''. whitehouse.gov. 2016 - 08 - 26. Retrieved 2017 - 03 - 28. Jump up ^ Barnett, Cynthia ( 2016 - 08 - 26 ). `` Hawaii Is Now Home to an Ocean Reserve Twice the Size of Texas ''. NationalGeographic.com. Retrieved 2017 - 03 - 28. ^ Jump up to : Lau, Leung - Ku Stephen ; Mink, John Francis ( 2006 - 10 - 01 ). Hydrology of the Hawaiian Islands. pp. 39, 43, 49, 53. ISBN 9780824829483. Further reading Morgan, Joseph R. ( 1996 ). `` Hawai'i : A Unique Geography -- Volcanic Landforms ''. Honolulu, HI : Bess Press. ISBN 1 - 57306 - 021 - 6. An integrated information website focused on the Hawaiian Archipelago from the Pacific Region Integrated Data Enterprise ( PRIDE ). Macdonald, G.A., A.T. Abbott, and F.L. Peterson. 1984. Volcanoes in the Sea : The Geology of Hawaii, 2nd edition. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu. 517 pp. The Ocean Atlas of Hawai'i -- SOEST at University of Hawai ʻi. `` Hawaiian Volcanoes -- Introduction -- Department of Geosciences ''. Corvallis, OR, USA. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2012. Volcano World ; Your World is Erupting -- Oregon State University College of Science State of Hawaii Honolulu ( capital ) Topics Constitution Delegations Discovery and settlement Earthquakes Geography Government Hawaiianize History Islands ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian Language ) Kūʻē Petitions Music People State symbols Tourism Transportation Unification Seal of Hawaii Society Hawaiian architecture Crime Culture Demographics Economy Education Energy Folklore Media Politics Sports Main Islands Hawai ʻi Kaho ʻolawe Kaua ʻi Lāna ʻi Maui Moloka ʻi Ni ʻihau Oʻahu Northwestern Islands French Frigate Shoals Gardner Kure Laysan Lisianski Maro Reef Necker Nihoa Pearl and Hermes Communities Hilo Honolulu Kahului Kāneʻohe Līhu ʻe Pearl City Waipahu Counties Hawai ʻi Honolulu Kalawao Kaua ʻi Maui Sovereignty Movement Hawaiian Renaissance 2008 occupation of Iolani Palace Geography of the United States States Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Federal district Washington, D.C. 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Question: which island of the hawaiian island chain is the youngest
Answer: Hawaiʻi island (the Big Island) is the biggest and youngest island in the chain, built from five volcanoes. Mauna Loa, taking up over half of the Big Island, is the largest shield volcano on the Earth.