Hawaii (Big Island)

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Hawaii (Big Island) Travel Guide

Geologically diverse island featuring active volcanoes, black and white sand beaches, lush rainforests, and high-altitude observatories.

Places to See in Hawaii (Big Island)

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Akaka Falls State Park
Rating ★ 5.0

Scenic rainforest park featuring a paved loop trail with panoramic views of two waterfalls, including a 442-foot free-falling cascade.

niksnut, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted

East Hawaii
Rating ★ 5.0

Lush, rainforest-covered region known for its waterfalls, botanical gardens, volcanic landscapes, and a slower-paced, culturally rich lifestyle.

George. Edit by User:Muhammad Mahdi Karim, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted

Kohala
Rating ★ 5.0

Scenic region featuring dramatic coastlines, historic sites, white sand beaches, and a blend of rugged lava fields and lush pasturelands.

Jeff P from Berkeley, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted

Kona Coast
Rating ★ 5.0

Coastal region offering sunny weather, historic landmarks, marine sanctuaries, and world-renowned coffee farms amid volcanic landscapes.

Overview

Hawai'i is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of 4,028 square miles (10,430 km2), it has 63% of the Hawaiian archipelago's combined landmass. However, it has only 13% of Hawai'i's population. The island of Hawai'i is the third largest island in Polynesia, behind the two main islands of New Zealand.

The island is often referred to as the Island of Hawai'i, the Big Island, or Hawai'i Island to distinguish it from the state. Administratively, the whole island is coextensive with Hawai'i County. The largest city is Hilo.

History

Hawai'i is said to have been named after Hawai'iloa, the legendary Polynesian navigator who first discovered it. Other accounts attribute the name to the legendary realm of Hawaiki, a place from which some Polynesian people are said to have originated, the place where they transition to in the afterlife, or the realm of the gods and goddesses. Captain James Cook, the English explorer and navigator who was captain of the first European expedition that came upon the Hawaiian Islands, called it O-Why-hee (from Hawaiian) and the "Sandwich Islands" after his patron, the Earl of Sandwich. Cook was killed on the Big Island at Kealakekua Bay on 14 February 1779, in a mêlée which followed the theft of a ship's boat.

Hawai'i was the home island of Pai'ea Kamehameha, later known as Kamehameha the Great. Kamehameha united most of the Hawaiian islands under his rule in 1795, after several years of war, and gave the kingdom and the island chain the name of his native island.

At its greatest dimension, the island is 93 miles (150 km) across. Measured from its sea floor base to its highest peak, Mauna Kea is the world's tallest mountain, taller than even Mount Everest, since the base of Mount Everest is above sea level.

Ka Lae, the southernmost point in the 50 states of the United States, is on Hawaii. The nearest landfall to the south is in the Line Islands. To the northwest of the island of Hawaii is the island of Maui, whose Haleakalā volcano is visible from Hawai'i across the Alenuihaha Channel.

Volcanism

The island of Hawai'i is built from five separate shield volcanoes that erupted somewhat sequentially, one overlapping the other. These are (from oldest to youngest):

Geological evidence from exposures of old surfaces on the south and west flanks of Mauna Loa led to the proposal that two ancient volcanic shields (named Ninole and Kulani) were all but buried by the younger Mauna Loa. Geologists now consider these "outcrops" to be part of the earlier building of Mauna Loa.

Because Mauna Loa and Kīlauea are active volcanoes, the island of Hawaii is still growing. Between January 1983 and September 2002, lava flows added 543 acres (220 ha) to the island. Lava flowing from Kīlauea has destroyed several towns, including Kapoho in 1960 and again in 2018, and Kalapana and Kaimū in 1990. In 1987 lava filled in "Queen's Bath", a large, L-shaped, freshwater pool in the Kalapana area. Another 875 acres were added between May to July, 2018 by the 2018 lower Puna eruption.

Some geologists count seven volcanoes as building the island, which include the submarine volcanoes Māhukona and Lō'ihi as parts of the base of the island. Māhukona off the northwest corner of the island has already disappeared below the surface of the ocean. Approximately 22 miles (35 km) southeast of Hawaii lies the undersea volcano known as Lō'ihi. It is an erupting seamount that now reaches approximately 3,200 feet (980 m) below the surface of the ocean. Continued activity at current rates from Lō'ihi will likely cause it to break the surface of the ocean sometime between 10,000 and 100,000 years from now.

Great Crack

The Great Crack is an eight-mile-long (13,000 m), 60-foot-wide (18 m) and 60-foot-deep (18 m) fissure in the island, in the district of Kau. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Great Crack is the result of crustal dilation from magmatic intrusions into the southwest rift zone of Kilauea.

Visitors can find trails, rock walls, and archaeological sites from as old as the 12th century around the Great Crack. In August 2018, the National Park Service purchased nearly 2,000 acres (810 ha) of private land adjacent to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, claiming that the area has important geological features that need to be studied and preserved.

Hilina Slump

The Hilina Slump is a 4,760-cubic-mile (19,800 km3) section of the south slope of the Kīlauea volcano which is slipping away from the island. Between 1990 and 1993, Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements showed a southward displacement of about 4 inches (10 cm) per year. Undersea measurements show that a "bench" has formed a buttress and that this buttress may tend to reduce the likelihood of future catastrophic detachment.

Volcanic fog

Vog (volcanic fog) can envelop the island of Hawai'i when Kilauea Volcano is active. Since the termination of volcanic activity in September 2018, the vog has largely disappeared on the west side of the island. The gas plumes of the Kīlauea Volcano create a blanket of vog which the dominant trade winds mostly deflect toward the Kona coast on the west side of the island of Hawai'i. Vog contains chemicals that can damage the environment and the health of plants, humans, and other animals. Most of the aerosols are acidic and of a size where they can remain in the lungs to damage them and impair function. Flu-like symptoms and general lethargy are reported, and are especially pronounced in people with respiratory conditions.

National protected areas

Economy

Sugarcane was the backbone of the island of Hawai'i's economy for more than a century. In the mid-20th century, sugarcane plantations began to downsize, and in 1995 the last plantation closed.

Most of the island's economy is based on tourism, centered primarily in resort areas on the western coast of the island in the North Kona and South Kohala districts.

Diversified agriculture is a growing sector of the economy. Major crops include macadamia nuts, papaya, flowers, tropical and temperate vegetables, and coffee beans. Only coffee grown in the Kona District of this island may be branded Kona coffee. The island's orchid agriculture is the largest in the state, and resulted in the unofficial nickname "The Orchid Isle". The island is home to one of the United States' largest cattle ranches: Parker Ranch, on 175,000 acres (708 km2) in Waimea. The island is also known for astronomy, with numerous telescopes operated on the summit of Mauna Kea at the Mauna Kea Observatories, where atmospheric clarity is excellent and there is little light pollution.

Transportation

Roads

Three routes connect the two major towns, Hilo on the east coast and Kailua-Kona on the west coast of the island:

There are also State highways 270 (Kawaihae – Hawi) and 180 (the "Kona coffee road", from Honalo to State highway 190), South Point Road (Highway 11 to South Point), etc.

There are presently three Hawaii Scenic Byways on the island of Hawaii:

Rental car offices are at the international airports. Taxi service is also available. Island-wide bus service is provided by the "Hele-On Bus".

Airports

Two commercial airports serve Hawai'i Island:

There is also:

Seaports

Major commercial ports are Hilo on the east side and Kawaihae on the west side of the island. Cruise ships often stop at Kailua-Kona and Hilo.

Places of interest

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Hawaii (island)", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.