Oahu

Oahu (Hawaiian: Oʻahu) is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. The island of O’ahu and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands constitute the City and County of Honolulu. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oʻahu's southeast coast. Oʻahu has a population of 995,638, up from 953,207 in 2010 (approximately 70% of the total 1,455,271 population of the U.S. state of Hawaii, with approximately 81% of those living in or near the Honolulu urban area).
Name
The Island of Oʻahu in Hawaii is often nicknamed (or translated as) "The Gathering Place". The translation of "gathering place" was suggested as recently as 1922 by Hawaiian Almanac author Thomas Thrum. It has been speculated that Thrum ignored or misplaced the ʻokina because the Hawaiian phrase "ʻo ahu" could be translated as "gathering of objects" (ʻo is a subject marker and ahu means "to gather"). The term has no confirmed meaning in Hawaiian, other than that of the place itself.
History
The island has been inhabited since at least the 3rd century A.D. The 304-year-old Kingdom of Oʻahu was once ruled by the most ancient aliʻi in all of the Hawaiian Islands. The first great king of Oʻahu was Maʻilikūkahi, the lawmaker, who was followed by many generations of monarchs. Kualiʻi was the first of the warlike kings and was succeeded by his sons. In 1773, the throne fell upon Kahahana, the son of Elani of Ewa. In 1783, Kahekili II, King of Maui, conquered Oʻahu, deposed the reigning family, and made his son, Kalanikūpule, king of Oʻahu, turning Oʻahu into a puppet state. Kamehameha the Great conquered Kalanikūpule's forces in the Battle of Nuʻuanu. Kamehameha founded the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi with the conquest of Oʻahu in 1795. Hawaiʻi was not unified until the islands of Kauaʻi and Niʻihau surrendered under King Kaumualiʻi in 1810. Kamehameha III moved his capital from Lāhainā, Maui to Honolulu, Oʻahu in 1845. ʻIolani Palace, built later by other members of the royal family, still stands, and is the only royal palace on American soil.
Oʻahu was apparently the first of the Hawaiian Islands sighted by the crew of HMS Resolution on January 19, 1778, during Captain James Cook's third Pacific expedition. Escorted by HMS Discovery, the expedition was surprised to find high islands this far north in the central Pacific. Oʻahu was not actually visited by Europeans until February 28, 1779, when Captain Charles Clerke aboard HMS Resolution stepped ashore at Waimea Bay. Clerke took command of the ship after James Cook was killed at Kealakekua Bay (island of Hawaiʻi) on February 14, and was leaving the islands for the North Pacific. With the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands came the introduction of disease, mosquitoes, and aggressive foreign animals. Although indirect, simple exposure to these foreign species caused permanent damage to the Native Hawaiian people and environment.
The Imperial Japanese Navy's attack on Pearl Harbor, Oʻahu on the morning of December 7, 1941, brought the United States into World War II. The surprise attack was aimed at destroying the American will to fight and making them sue for peace immediately by attacking the Pacific Fleet of the United States Navy and its defending Army Air Forces and Marine Air Forces. The attack damaged or destroyed 12 American warships, destroyed 188 aircraft, and resulted in the deaths of 2,335 American servicemen and 68 civilians (of those, 1,177 were the result of the destruction of the USS Arizona alone).
Today, Oʻahu has become a tourism and shopping haven. Over five million visitors (mainly from the contiguous United States and Japan) flock there every year.
Climate
Oʻahu is also known for having the longest rain shower in history, which lasted 200 consecutive days. Kāneʻohe Ranch reported 247 straight days of rain from August 27, 1993, to April 30, 1994. The average temperature in Oʻahu is around . The island is the warmest from June through October. The winter is cooler, but still warm, with an average temperature of .
Geography
Oʻahu is long and across. Its shoreline is long. Including small associated islands such as Ford Island plus those in Kāneʻohe Bay and off the eastern (windward) coast, its area is , making it the 20th-largest island in the United States.
The city of Honolulu—the state's capital and largest city is located on the island. As a jurisdictional unit, all of Oʻahu is in Honolulu County, although Honolulu occupies only part of its southeastern end.
Well-known features of Oʻahu include Waikiki, Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head Kāneʻohe Bay, Kailua Bay, North Shore, and the resort destination Ko Olina.
The island is composed of two separate shield volcanoes: the Waiʻanae and Koʻolau Ranges, with a broad valley or saddle (the central Oʻahu Plain) between them. The highest point is Kaʻala in the Waiʻanae Range, rising to above sea level.
Tourism
Oahu, along with the rest of the State of Hawaii, relies on tourism as a driving force of the local economy. Popular tourists attractions include various beaches around the island such as Ala Moana Beach, Hanauma Bay, Kāneʻohe Bay, Ko Olina Beach Park, Waikīkī Beach, among others. Other tourist attractions include Ala Moana Center, Bishop Museum, the Honolulu Museum of Art, ʻIolani Palace, and Kualoa Ranch.
In popular culture
In the video games Test Drive Unlimited and Test Drive Unlimited 2 players can drive around Oʻahu island's of road. The island is also featured in The Crew Motorfest.
Microsoft Flight, released in 2012 as the successor to the Microsoft Flight Simulator series, was set on island of Hawaiʻi. The game had a piece of downloadable content (DLC) called Hawaiian Adventure Pack. Once purchased, it brought detail to all of the Hawaiian islands to the game, including Oʻahu. The DLC also brought new airports to land and take off from and new missions to complete, among other things.
Lost was filmed almost entirely on Oʻahu, with many locations on the island (predominantly Honolulu) serving as a stand-in for other locations (including the US, Australia, UK, and South Korea). Many of the show's stars still call the island home. The island's thick rainforests and picturesque beaches are prominently featured.
50 First Dates, the film that is set on the island.
MythBusters shot their 2012 Season's "Duct Tape Island" episode on this island
The South Korean reality TV series Father and Me was filmed on Oʻahu in 2016
The Reimanns, a popular German reality TV series, has been filmed on the North Shore at the family's estate in Pūpūkea since December 2015.
The ninth part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, The JoJoLands, takes place mainly on Oʻahu.
Notable people
Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States
Benny Agbayani, professional baseball player
Keiko Agena, actor
Gabe Baltazar, clarinet and saxophone player
Alexandria Boehm, scientist
Darin Brooks, actor, writer, producer
Max Holloway, MMA Fighter, Former UFC Featherweight Champion
Angelique Cabral, actor
Tia Carrere, actor
Brian Ching, Major League Soccer
Dennis Chun, actor (Hawaii Five-0), son of Kam Fong
Bryan Clay, Olympic decathlete 2008
Scott Crary, film director and producer
Auliʻi Cravalho, actor, singer
Mark Dacascos, actor
Caitlin Doughty, mortician, author and YouTube personality
Diana Ewing, actor
Sid Fernandez, baseball
Maile Flanagan, actor
Kam Fong, actor
Lauren Graham, actor
Erin Gray, actor
Brian Grazer, Oscar-winning film and television producer
Coco Ho, pro surfer
Don Ho, singer
Kelly Ann Hu, actor
Carrie Ann Inaba, dancer, actor, musician
Daniel Inouye, US Senator, Medal of Honor recipient
Jack Johnson, musician, folk-rock singer-songwriter
Duke Kahanamoku, pro swimmer, surfer, sheriff
Samuel Kamakau, historian
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, musician
Maxim Knight, actor
Olin Kreutz, football player Chicago Bears
Clyde Kusatsu, actor
Brook Lee, model and co-host of television talk show "It’s a Hawaii Thing" on OC 16
Teri Ann Linn, actor
Jack Lord, actor
Marcus Mariota, NFL football player, Philadelphia Eagles
Markiplier (Mark Edward Fischbach), Internet personality, video game commentator
Bruno Mars, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician
Julie McCullough, actor
Zack Merrick, drummer in American rock band All Time Low
Bette Midler, singer, actor, comedian
Jason Momoa, actor
Carissa Moore, pro surfer
Tahj Mowry, actor
Don Muraco, professional wrestler
Jamie O'Brien, surfer
Ellison Onizuka, NASA astronaut, STS-51-C, STS-51-L, Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
Noelani Pantastico, ballet dancer
Janel Parrish, actor, singer
Kelly Preston, actor
Maggie Q, actor
Jonah Ray, actor, comedian, writer
Makua Rothman (born 1984), world champion surfer
Anthony Ruivivar, actor
Jesse Sapolu, retired football player, San Francisco 49ers
Garret T. Sato, actor
Amanda Schull, actor
James Shigeta, actor
Jake Shimabukuro, ʻukulele player
Karen Steele, actor
Don Stroud, actor
Tua Tagovailoa, NFL football player, Miami Dolphins
Ronald Takaki, academic, historian, ethnographer, and author
Akebono Tarō, sumo wrestler
Kristi Tauti, professional figure competitor and fitness model
Manti Te'o, NFL football player, Los Angeles Chargers
Paul Theroux, author
Michelle Wie West, golf LPGA
Taylor Wily, actor
Kirby Wright, poet and writer
Keone Young, actor
See also
Honolulu Volcanics
National Register of Historic Places listings in Oʻahu
References
Citations
Sources
Doyle, David W., 2001. Rescue in Paradise: Oahu's Beaches and their Guardians. Island Heritage.
Macdonald, Gordon A., Agatin T. Abbott, and Frank L. Peterson, 1983. Volcanoes in the Sea. University of Hawaiʻi Press, Honolulu. 517 pp.
Pukui, M. K., S. H. Elbert, and E. T. Mookini, 1976. Place names of Hawaiʻi. University of Hawaiʻi Press. 289 pp.
External links
Articles containing video clips
Geography of Honolulu County, Hawaii
Islands of Hawaii