Hawaii

**Hawaii** () is a U.S. state and the only U.S. State that is in Oceania. It is the most recent state to join the United States, becoming a state on August 21, 1959. It is the only state made only of islands. Hawaii is also the name of the largest island. The capital and largest city of Hawaii is Honolulu on the island named Oahu.

## Name

Hawaii is known as the "Aloha State". _Aloha_ is a Hawaiian word that has many meanings like welcome, hello and goodbye. Aloha also means love and care. The different meanings are brought together in the term "Aloha Spirit" to describe the friendly people of Hawaii.

## Geography

Hawaii is an archipelago, a long chain of islands. There are eight main islands and many small islands and atolls. They are the tops of underwater volcanos. The main islands are Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Maui and Hawaii.

## History

The first people of Hawaii were Polynesians. They came to the islands sometime between 200 and 600 AD. Captain James Cook discovered the islands in 1778. Others may have been there before him. Captain Cook named the islands the Sandwich Islands for the fourth Earl of Sandwich, John Montague.

Kamehameha I was the first king of Hawaii. He united the separate small Hawaiian kingdoms into one large kingdom in 1795. In 1893, American soldiers stopped Queen Liliuokalani from leading Hawaii when American business people took over the government and made their own laws. She was the last monarch of Hawaii. She also wrote the original words of the song called _Aloha Oe_.

The Americans made Hawaii into a republic for a short time. The new leader, Sanford Dole was called the President of Hawaii. In 1898, the United States of America took over the government and made Hawaii into a territory.In 1907, University of Hawaiʻi is established.  In 1959, Hawaii became the fiftieth American state. In other words, it was taken ("annexed") against the wishes of its native people. Their queen, Lili’uokalani, wrote that “it had not entered into our hearts to believe that these friends and allies from the United States... would ever go so far as to absolutely overthrow our form of government, seize our nation by the throat, and pass it over to an alien power”.

### Reason for statehood

Early in World War II the U.S. Pacific Fleet was based on the Philippines. Perceiving that this was not safe, the navy moved its base to the Hawaiian islands, namely Oahu (the main island in the chain). It was there that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. That was significant in the later discussions about the future of the islands.

## Economy

The biggest industry of Hawaii is tourism. Almost seven million people visited in 2000. Important exports are sugar, pineapple, macadamia nuts, and coffee.

Popular tourist sites include Waikiki Beach, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Polynesian Cultural Center, and the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor.

## State symbols

The state flower is the yellow hibiscus (_Hibiscus brackenridgei_ or ). The state bird is the Hawaiian goose (nene). The state fish is the reef triggerfish, also called the **'. The state tree is the candlenut, also called _kukui_. The state song is Hawaii Ponoi. The state motto is **'. In English it says, _The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness_.

## References

**Notes**

## Infobox (u.s. state)

- **name**: Hawaii
- **official name**: State of Hawaii
<div style="padding-top:0.25em;"></div>
- **native name**: <div style="padding-top:0.25em;"></div>
- **image flag**: Flag of Hawaii.svg
- **flag link**: Flag of Hawaii
- **image seal**: Seal of the State of Hawaii.svg
- **seal link**: Seal of Hawaii
- **former**: Territory of Hawaii
- **image map**: File:Hawaii in United States (US50) (+grid) (zoom) (W3).svg
- **nickname**: The Aloha State (official), Paradise of the Pacific, The Islands of Aloha, The 808 State
- **motto**: ("The Life of the Land Is Perpetuated in Righteousness")
- **anthem**: (Hawaii's Own True Sons)
- **seat**: Honolulu
- **largestcity**: capital
- **largestmetro**: Honolulu County, Hawaii, Honolulu
- **population demonym**: Hawaii resident, Hawaiian
- **legislature**: Hawaii State Legislature, State Legislature
- **upperhouse**: Hawaii Senate, Senate
- **lowerhouse**: Hawaii House of Representatives, House of Representatives
- **judiciary**: Supreme Court of Hawaii
- **representative**: Hawaii's 1st congressional district, 1: Ed Case (D)Hawaii's 2nd congressional district, 2: Jill Tokuda (D)
- **postal code**: HI
- **tradabbreviation**: H.I.
- **area total sq mi**: 10,931
- **area total km2**: 28,311
- **area land sq mi**: 6,423
- **area land km2**: 16,638
- **area water sq mi**: 4,507
- **area water km2**: 11,672
- **area water percent**: 41.2
- **population as of**: 2020
- **population rank**: 40th
- **2010pop**: 1,455,271
- **2000density**: 82.6
- **2000densityus**: 221
- **medianhouseholdincome**: $
- **incomerank**: List of U.S. states and territories by income#States and territories ranked by median household income, 6th
- **timezone1**: Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zone, Hawaii
- **utc offset1**: −10:00
- **longitude**: 154° 48′ W to 178° 22′ W
- **latitude**: 18° 55′ N to 28° 27′ N
- **length mi**: 1,522
- **width mi**: n/a
- **width km**: n/a
- **length km**: 2,450
- **elevation max point**: Mauna Kea
- **elevation max ft**: 13,796
- **elevation max m**: 4205.0
- **elevation ft**: 3,030
- **elevation m**: 920
- **elevation min point**: Pacific Ocean
- **elevation min ft**: 0
- **elevation min m**: 0
- **iso code**: US-HI
- **website**: hawaii.gov
- **capital**: Honolulu


## Infobox (u.s. state symbols)

- **name**: Hawaii
- **flag**: Flag of Hawaii.svg
- **seal**: Seal of Hawaii.svg
- **tree**: Candlenut,  tree
- **dance**: Hula
- **food**: Taro,  (taro)
- **gemstone**: Black coral,  (black coral)
- **other**: Surfing,  (surfing) (state individual sport)
- **route marker**: HI-11.svg
- **quarter**: 2008 HI Proof.png
- **quarterreleasedate**: 2008