The State of Hawaii occupies a group of volcanic islands in the central Pacific 2,397 miles west of San Francisco, with a total landmass of 6,423 square miles. The major islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii are also designated as counties.
Tourism is the state's primary industry.
The original agricultural crops of pineapple and sugar, however, are for the most part no longer so profitable to grow on the islands, where costs are so high. Because the topography is generally steep, there are few basins or lakes. Mauna Loa and Kilauea Volcanoes remain active. The state does receive earthquake funding, and it does sit on the seismic fault line that runs down to and past American Samoa. The governor has assigned sole responsibility for emergency management to the director of civil defense, whose primary role is as director of the military department.