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The Main Islands of Hawaii
Hawaii, often called the Big Island, is
almost twice as large as the rest of the islands combined. Roughly
triangular in shape, it extends 150 km (93 mi) from north to south and 122
km (76 mi) from east to west. The island is a huge mountainous mass
dominated by two great volcanic peaks, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. In addition
to its great bare lava beds and barren ash-covered slopes, which cover much
of the island, Hawaii has large areas of tropical rain forests, numerous
waterfalls, and great stretches of rolling grasslands.
Maui, the second largest island, is sometimes called the Valley Isle because
it consists of two mountain masses separated by a low, narrow valley-like
isthmus. Haleakala, a huge dormant volcano 3,055 m (10,023 ft) high, forms
the largest of these mountain masses. Its summit depression is huge, with a
circumference of 34 km (21 mi). The lowland isthmus forms a fertile
agricultural area.
Molokai is called the Friendly Island because of the hospitality its
inhabitants extend to visitors. Its eastern half is a mountainous area that
rises to 1,512 m (4,961 ft) at Mount Kamakou. Along the northeastern coast
steep cliffs tower as high as 1,100 m (3,600 ft) above the sea. The western
half consists of a smaller volcano that rises to 503 m (1,381 ft). Much of
this mountain is a generally low plateau, which was formerly used for
pineapple growing, and now for cattle ranching and some tourism. On the
northern side lies Kalaupapa, a settlement for people with leprosy, or
Hansen’s disease. There, Father Damien, a Belgian Roman Catholic priest,
labored among the lepers until he died of the disease in 1889.
Lanai, known as the Pineapple Island for the many years it was a prosperous
pineapple plantation, was recently opened to tourism. Its years of private
ownership by the Dole Food Company and reputation today as a place where
visitors can find seclusion has bestowed upon it a new nickname as the
Private Island. It is a generally hilly island that rises gradually to 1,027
m (3,369 ft) above sea level at Lanaihale, or Mount Palawai. Cut off in part
from the northeast trade winds by Maui and Molokai, the island of Lanai
receives very little rainfall except in the summit region surrounding
Lanaihale. For a time the land was used mainly for cattle raising. In 1922
most of the island was purchased by the Hawaiian Pineapple Company (now the
Dole Company), which tapped underground reservoirs and valley streams for
irrigation water. The workers and their families reside in Lanai City, now
the chief community, which lies at the foot of Lanaihale on the Palawai
plateau.
Na Pali Coast on Island of Kauai The Na Pali coast is a rugged mountainous
region on Kauai’s northwest coast, in Hawaii. The nature of Na Pali’s
terrain made it impossible to build a road that would circle the entire
island. Kee Beach is shown here.Kathleen T. Carr/ProFiles West
Oahu, called the Gathering Place, is the home of 870,000 people, or about
three-quarters of the state’s total population, and the site of Honolulu,
the state capital. The island is made up of two parallel mountain ranges,
which are separated by a low rolling plateau and fringed by narrow coastal
plains. The ranges, which run from northwest to southeast, are the Waianae
Range on the west and the Koolau Range on the east. Mount Kaala, the highest
point on Oahu, rises to 1,227 m (4,025 ft) in the Waianae Range. The Koolau
Range reaches a maximum height of 946 m (3,105 ft). On the windward, or
northeast, side this range forms a series of spectacular cliffs. Honolulu,
by far the largest city in Hawaii, lies on a narrow leeward coastal plain at
the foot of the Koolau Range. Nearby are three famous landmarks, Punchbowl,
Diamond Head, and Koko Head, all of them the remnant deposits of extinct
volcanic vents. At its southern end the plateau merges with a broad coastal
plain that encloses Pearl Harbor, Hawaii’s finest harbor.
Kauai, the wettest and greenest of the islands, is often called the Garden
Isle. Perhaps the most scenic island of Hawaii, it is an area of luxuriant
vegetation, multihued canyons, and numerous streams and waterfalls. The
mountain’s highest peak, Kawaikini, rises to 1,598 m (5,243 ft). The
windward summit region of the extinct Kauai volcano is one of the wettest
areas on earth. Through the centuries the erosive action of torrential
streams has produced steep canyons, such as Waimea Canyon. The island’s most
popular scenic attraction, this great canyon is 16 km (10 mi) in length and
has multicolored walls more than 800 m (2,600 ft) high. On the northwest
coast the land drops in a series of huge craggy cliffs called Na Pali. Along
other parts of the coast, sugarcane and cattle are raised on narrow
lowlands. Kauai has served as the backdrop for a number of movies, including
King Kong (1976), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and Jurassic Park (1993).
Niihau is the private property of the Robinson family, the descendants of
Mrs. Elizabeth Sinclair and family, who purchased the island from the
Hawaiian government in 1864. Only invited guests of the residents or of the
owners are welcome there, and Niihau is frequently called the Aloof Island
or Forbidden Island. Some 230 native Hawaiians live and work on Niihau. They
speak the old Hawaiian language and follow some of the customs and
traditions of their ancestors. Most of the island is low and arid. Too dry
for cultivation, the island is used for grazing cattle.
Kahoolowe, the smallest of the main islands, is rocky and sparsely
vegetated, especially in the upper region of the island. It has a maximum
elevation of only 450 m (1,477 ft). Kahoolawe was used by the U.S. Navy as a
target site from 1941 until 1994, when it was ceded to Hawaii. The Navy will
control access to the island until 2003, or until all unexploded ordnance is
removed. |
