Hawaii |
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| Entered the Union: August 21, 1959 (50) | Capital: Honolulu |
| Origin of Name: The islands may have been named by Hawaii Loa, their traditional discoverer. Or after Hawaii or Hawaiki, the traditional home of the Polynesians. | |
| State Nicknames: Aloha State • Paradise of the Pacific | |
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State Motto: The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.
(Ua mau ke ea o ka aina I ka pono) |
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| State Bird: Nene (Hawaiian Goose) | State Tree: Kukui (Candlenut) |
| State Marine Mammal: Humpback Whale | State Flower: Yellow Hibiscus |
| State Forests: 19 • State Parks: 50 | State Song: “Hawaii Ponoi" |
| Famous for: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Pearl Harbor Memorials, Waikiki Beach | |
| Famous Hawaiians: Angela Perez Baraquio (Miss America 2001), Steve Case (business executive), Samuel Castle (missionary), Fr. Damien and Mother Marianne Cope (ministers to leper colony), Don Ho (entertainer), Kaahumanu (Hawaiian queen), Duke Paoa Kahanamoku (Olympic swimmer), Kamahameha I (first Hawaiian king), Kamehameha V (last of the dynasty), Liliuokalani (last Hawaiian monarch), Bette Midler (singer), Ellison Onizuka (astronaut), Chad Rowan (sumo wrestler), Carolyn Suzanne Sapp (Miss America 1991), Don Stroud (actor), Claus Spreckels (developer) | |
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Native Animals: Click on photos of the animals on this page
to find out more about them and to hear the sounds they make. |
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| State Fair: Oahu, Hawaii |
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| Hawaii, 2,397 miles west-southwest of San Francisco, is a 1,523-mile chain of islets and eight main islands—Hawaii, Kahoolawe, Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai, and Niihau. | |||||||||||||||||
| The Hawaiian Islands are the projecting tops of the biggest mountain range in the world. | |||||||||||||||||
| Hawaii is the only U.S. state whose land area is increasing (from volcanic eruptions). | |||||||||||||||||
| Hawaii is the most isolated population center on the face of the earth. Hawaii is 2,390 miles from California; 3,850 miles from Japan. | |||||||||||||||||
| First settled by Polynesians sailing from other Pacific islands between A.D. 300 and 600, Hawaii was visited in 1778 by British captain James Cook, who called the group the Sandwich Islands. | |||||||||||||||||
| New Jersey, not Hawaii, has the highest population density in the United States; Hawaii ranks about 13th. | |||||||||||||||||
| The Japanese attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, was directly responsible for U.S. entry into World War II. | |||||||||||||||||
| Hawaii once supplied more than a third of the world's commercial pineapples, though today its share is a small fraction. It is the leading coffee-growing state. Hawaii is also a producer of cane sugar and macadamia nuts. | |||||||||||||||||
| Hawaii is the southernmost state in the United States. | |||||||||||||||||
| Hawaii has its own time zone (Hawaiian Standard Time.) The time runs two hours behind Pacific Standard Time. They do not observe Daylight Savings Time. | |||||||||||||||||
| The highest recorded temperature is 100 degrees. Temperatures hover near 90 in August and September. Temperatures in December or January hover around 75 degrees. | |||||||||||||||||
| The ocean temperature varies from about 72 degrees in the winter to around 82 degrees in the summer. | |||||||||||||||||
| The island of O'ahu is 44 miles long by 25 miles wide. Mount Ka’ala is the highest point on Oahu, rising 4,020 feet above sea level. Mount Ka’ala is the highest point on Oahu, rising 4,020 feet above sea level. | |||||||||||||||||
| Honolulu is one of the nation's 60 largest metropolitan areas. | |||||||||||||||||
| Iolani Palace in the heart of downtown Honolulu is the only royal palace in the United States. Electric lights illuminated Iolani Palace four years before the White house had them. | |||||||||||||||||
| Hawaii has a wealth of native species. Many of them are endemic, that is, found nowhere else in the world. | |||||||||||||||||
| Hawaiian monk seals are one of only two mammals that are endemic to Hawaii. Adult seals weigh 400 to 600 pounds and feed on fish, squid, and crustaceans. | |||||||||||||||||
| The Hawaiian alphabet consists of only twelve letters. The five vowels are A,E, I, O,U. And the seven consonants are H,K,L,M,N,P,W. | |||||||||||||||||
| Hawaiians' life expectancy for males is about 78 years, for females about 84 -- the highest in the U.S. | |||||||||||||||||
| Oahu was once home to the world’s largest wind generator. The windmill was located on the top of a 20-story tower. It has two blades, each measuring 400 feet (122 m) in length. | |||||||||||||||||
| The island of Kauai is home to one of the wettest spots on Earth. The average yearly rainfall on Mt. Waialeale is about 450 inches | |||||||||||||||||
| By law, no building on Kauai is allowed to be built taller than a palm tree. | |||||||||||||||||
| The Big Island of Hawaii is the worldwide leader in harvesting macadamia nuts and orchids. | |||||||||||||||||
| Kilauea volcano on the Big Island is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. | |||||||||||||||||
| Lake Waiau on the Big Island is one of the highest lakes in the United States. It’s located at an altitude of 13,020 feet | |||||||||||||||||
| The tallest coconut tree stands in Hilo and measures 92 feet and 5 inches | |||||||||||||||||
| The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are home to more than 7,000 marine species, a quarter of which are found nowhere else in the world. | |||||||||||||||||
| Ethnic Roots of Hawaiians: 21.9% Caucasian, 20.6% Hawaiian/part Hawaiian, 19.4% mixed (non-Hawaiian), 18.2% Japanese, 14% Filipino. Chinese, Korean, Samoan and African make up less than 4% of the population. | |||||||||||||||||
| Religion in Hawaii: 63% Christian (39% Protestant • 24% Catholic), 18% Agnostic, 9% Buddhist, 5% LDS, and 5% other. | |||||||||||||||||
| Father Damien dedicated his life in service to the lepers of Molokai. A full size statue of Fr. Damien stands in front of the Hawaii State Legislature. In 1985, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II, and on October 11, 2009 he was canonized a saint by Pope Benedict XVI. In 2005, Father Damien was chosen as the Greatest Belgian of all time by the Flemish public broadcasting service, VRT. | |||||||||||||||||
At a Glance
Hawaii Quick Facts
| Entered the Union | August 21, 1959 (50) |
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| Capital | Honolulu |
| Nickname | Aloha State • Paradise of the Pacific |
| State Bird | Nene (Hawaiian Goose) |
| State Flower | Yellow Hibiscus |
| State Tree | Kukui (Candlenut) |
New for 2026
More Hawaii Facts & Photos
Measured from its base on the ocean floor, Mauna Kea on the Big Island rises more than 33,000 feet, making it the tallest mountain on Earth, well over 4,000 feet taller than Mount Everest. Only its top 13,796 feet stand above the waves.
The silversword, a spiky silver plant of Haleakala's upper slopes, grows nowhere else on Earth. It can live up to 90 years, yet it blooms only once, sending up a single towering flower stalk before it dies.
Waimea Canyon on Kauai, nicknamed the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific," runs more than ten miles long and about 3,600 feet deep. Its red, orange, and yellow walls get their color from iron oxide (rust) in the volcanic rock.
Hilo's Merrie Monarch Festival, held every year since 1964 in the week after Easter, is the most prestigious hula competition in the world. It honors King David Kalakaua, the "Merrie Monarch," who championed the return of hula and Hawaiian culture.
In 1976 the voyaging canoe Hokule'a sailed from Hawaii to Tahiti steered only by the stars, sun, and ocean swells (no instruments), proving that ancient Polynesians could navigate on purpose across thousands of miles of open Pacific.
Voices of America
In Their Own Words
Woodrow Wilson
"The Bible...is the one supreme source of revelation of the meaning of life, the nature of God and spiritual nature and needs of men. It is the only guide of life which really leads the spirit in the way of peace and salvation. America was born a Christian nation."
President
James Monroe
"The liberty, prosperity, and the happiness of our country will always be the object of my most fervent prayers to the Supreme Author of All Good."
March 5, 1821 Inaugural Address
President
James Madison
"Before any man can be considered as a member of civil society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe. And to the same Divine Author of every good and perfect gift [James 1:17] we are indebted for all those privileges and advantages, religious as well as civil, which are so richly enjoyed in this favored land."
President
George Washington
"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports."Farewell Address
President
Thomas Jefferson
“I have always said and always will say that the studious perusal of the Sacred Volume will make better citizens, better fathers, better husbands... the Bible makes the best people in the world."
President
Last updated: July 2026