Hawaii
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| State nickname: The Aloha State | |||||
Other U.S. States | |||||
| Capital | Honolulu | ||||
| Largest City | Honolulu | ||||
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Area - Total - Land - Water - % water |
Ranked 43rd 28,337 km² 16,649 km² 11,672 km² 41.2% | ||||
| Population
- Total (2000) - Density | Ranked 42nd
1,211,537 43/km² | ||||
| Admittance into Union
- Order - Date |
50th August 21, 1959 | ||||
| Time zone | Hawaii: UTC-10/ (no daylight savings time) | ||||
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Latitude
Longitude |
16°55'N to 23°N
154°40'W to 162°W | ||||
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Length Elevation -Highest -Mean -Lowest |
2450 km 4,205 meters 925 meters 0 meters | ||||
| ISO 3166-2: | US-HI | ||||
Hawaii (spelled Hawai'i in Hawaiian), is the North Pacific Ocean archipelago of the Hawaiian Islands, constituting the 50th state of the United States. As of the 2000 Census, the population of Hawaii was 1,211,537. Honolulu is the largest city and the state capital.
Hawaii's distinctions among U.S. states include being
- the one with the southernmost point,
- the only one mostly in the tropical zone,
- one of two outside the contiguous U.S,
- the only one with no territory on the mainland of any continent,
- the one most recently admitted to statehood, and
- the one whose territory was most recently annexed by the U.S.
State Symbols
Language
Hawaii has two official languages, English and Hawaiian. Although one will just as often see place names spelled in English as in Hawaiian, within the State the idea that correct Hawaiian spelling should be used has gained widespread support in the last decade or so. Because the written Hawaiian language was developed by U.S. missionaries in the early part of the 19th century, the spelling of Hawaiian words and their English equivalents are virtually identical, with the exception that Hawaiian uses two diacritical marks (the 'okina and kahakō; see Hawaiian language). Just as some knowledge of pronunciation is needed to correctly pronounce Hawaiian place names, these marks are necessary to establish both correct pronunciation and meaning of Hawaiian place names.
Although standard American English is the language of formal business in the Islands, many people, especially those born and raised in Hawaii, speak and understand Hawaiian Pidgin in everyday conversation. Primarily a spoken language based on English, it includes words from Hawaiian, Chinese, and Japanese, among others.
The Hawaiian islands were first populated by Polynesians some 1500-2000 years ago. These original settlers were thought to be voyagers from the Marquesas Islands. For most of its early history, the islands of Hawaii were independently governed by locally-based monarchs. In 1795 the islands were united for the first time under a single ruler: King Kamehameha I.
Because of its strategic location, the islands became a popular base for the American military, and soon underwent a massive influx of American-born, as well as Asian-born settlers. A ruling elite of Americans, made up mostly of wealthy sugar-plantation owners, soon gained much political control over the country. In 1893, the Hawaiian monarchy was deposed in a revolution representing their interests, assisted by unauthorized actions by American diplomatic and military personnel; Queen Liliuokalani was overthrown and her government replaced by a republic led by President Sanford Dole, an American settler.
On July 7, 1898 the republic's government and the US Congress agreed for Hawaii to be annexed to the United States as a United States territory, with self-government beginning shortly thereafter.
On March 18, 1959, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Hawaii Statehood Admission Act which allowed Hawaii to join the Union as the 50th state. Hawaii formally became an state on August 21, 1959.
The manner in which Hawaii became a U.S. possession remains today a source of considerable controversy. In January 1993, a resolution was passed by the United States Congress apologizing for the U.S. participation in the overthrow of the monarchy. Today, Hawaii is an integrated member of the United States and a popular tourist destination—but discussions of sovereignty for the Hawaiian people continue, and are taken seriously by Hawaiian residents and their politicians.
The State of Hawaii is spread over 19 major islands and atolls in the central Pacific. The state government also includes minor offshore islands and individual islets in each atoll in its count of 137 islands; this number is often quoted in visitor literature. The inhabited islands are those from the Big Island to Ni'ihau (see map), but the island chain extends another 1000 miles to the northwest.
The main Hawaiian Islands and the counties of the state are shown on the map to the right.
The Hawaii state government is modeled after that of the U.S. federal government. It has three branches: executive, legislative and judicial. The executive branch is headed by the Governor of the state, and all state agencies belong to this branch. The legislative body consists of the 25-member Senate and the 51-member House of Representatives. The highest state court is the Hawaii Supreme Court.
See: List of counties in Hawaii, US Congressional Delegations from Hawaii
The total gross output for the state in 1999 was $41 billion placing Hawaii 40th compared to the other states. The Per Capita Income for Hawaiian residents was $28,221. Tourism is now the state's largest industry. Industrial product outputs are minimal because of the considerable shipping distance to markets on the U.S West Coast or Japan, but would include food processing and apparel. The main agricultural outputs are nursery stock and flowers, coffee, macadamia nuts, pineapple, livestock, and sugar cane. Agricultural sales for 2002 (according to Hawaii Agricultural Statistics Service) were $370.9 M from diversified agriculture, $100.6 M from pineapple, and $64.3 M from sugarcane.
The population of Hawaii is approximately 1.2 million, while the de facto population is over 1.3 million due to military presence and tourists.
O'ahu is the most populous island, with a population of just under one million.
According to the 2000 Census, 41.6% of Hawaii's population identifies themselves as Asian, and 9.4% are Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander. 21.4% describe themselves as mixed (two or more races). A large proportion of Hawaii's population is of Asian (especially Japanese) descent, from those early immigrants who came to the islands in the nineteenth century to work on sugar plantations. The first Japanese arrived in Hawaii on February 9, 1885.
The largest city is the capital, Honolulu, located along the southeast coast of the island of O'ahu. Other populous cities include Hilo, Kāne'ohe, Kailua, Pearl City, and Kahului.History
Main article: History of HawaiiGeology and Geography
''Main article: Hawaiian IslandsLaw and Government
Unlike other states, municipal governments in Hawaii operate only at the county level. There are no incorporated cities in Hawaii, other than the consolidated City & County of Honolulu. Economy
Demographics
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Hawaii, being one of the United States, is included in the North American Numbering Plan. Its area code within that plan is 808.
Hawaii is located in the Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time Zone (UTC-10). Hawaii is one of three U.S. states that do not observe Daylight Saving Time.
'Iolani Palace, the only royal residence in the United States, was once the home of King Kalakaua and Queen Lili`uokalani, the last monarchs of Hawaii. It is open to visitors.
Many television shows have been set in Hawaii, including Hawaii Five-O and Magnum P.I
Pele is the well-known goddess of Hawaii's volcanoes. Local legends and ghost stories often revolve around her visits, as well as sightings of Menehune and Nightmarchers.
Hawaii is home to two of the largest independent schools in the United States: Punahou School and the Kamehameha Schools.
Local directions in Hawaii are not expressed in terms of compass points (i.e., north-south-east-west) but by a radial system that uses local landmarks. For example, mauka means inland (literally, "towards the mountain"), while makai means the opposite ("towards the sea"). In Honolulu "Diamond Head" is equivalent to "east," because that's the main landmark on the coast east of downtown Honolulu, and "Ewa" is equivalent to "west," because that place is on the coast west of Honolulu. So instead of saying something was on the north-west corner of an intersection in Honolulu, it might be described as the "mauka and ewa" corner of that intersection.
Hanafuda is a popular card game among Japanese-Americans living in Hawaii.
See also: Hawaiian alphabet; Music of Hawaii; Tourism in Hawaii; Polynesian mythology; Hawaiian mythology; Literature.
Famous People From Hawaii
Miscellaneous Information
External Links
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