Home > Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of numerous islands and atolls trending northwest by southeast in the North Pacific Ocean between latitudes 19° N and 29° N. The archipelago takes as its name that of the largest island in the group. It extends some 1500 miles from northernmost Kure Atoll to the Island of Hawai‘i in the south and represents the exposed peaks of a great undersea mountain range, formed by volcanic activity over a hotspot in the earth's mantle. At about 4,000 km (2,484 miles) from the nearest continent, the Hawaiian Island archipelago is the most isolated island system on Earth.
1 Islands and reefs of the Hawaiian archipelago
A total of 19 islands and atolls comprise the Hawaiian Islands, with a total land area of 16,636 km2 (6,423.4 square miles).
The main Hawaiian islands (all inhabited except for Kaho‘olawe) are, listed here from south to north:
- Hawai‘i (also known as the Big Island)
- Maui
- Kaho‘olawe (uninhabited; temporary residential facilities)
- Lna‘i
- Moloka‘i
- O‘ahuO‘ahu is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous island in the state of Hawai‘i. Total land area is 608 mile² (1,575 km²). The city of Honolulu—largest city, state capital, and main deepwater marine port for the State of Hawai‘i—is loc
- Kaua‘iKauai Kaua‘i with Okina) is the oldest and fourth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands. Known also as the "Garden Isle", Kauai lies 105 miles (170 kilometers) across the Kauai Channel, northwest of O‘ahu. Of volcanic origin, the highest point on the mount
- Ni‘ihauNi‘ihau at 70 sq. miles (182 sq. km), is the smallest of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands in the US State of Hawai‘i. The island's dimensions are 30 km by 10 km (6. 6 mi; 50% larger than uninhabited Kaho‘olawe). The maxium elevation (Paniau) is 390 m (1280
Smaller islands, atolls, and reefs (beyond Ni‘ihau and all uninhabited); called the Northwestern Hawaiian IslandsThe Northwestern Hawaiian Islands or the Leeward Islands are the small islands and atolls in the Hawaiian island chain that are located northwest of the islands of Kaua'i and Ni'ihau. All the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are uninhabited and are administe:
- KaulaKaula (or Ka‘ula in Hawaiian) is a small, crescent-shaped island in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in the state of Hawaii, about 20 miles to the west-southwest of Niihau. The island is actually the very top of a volcanic tuff cone that rests on top of
- NihoaNihoa (also known as Bird Island or Moku Manu is a small island located 280 miles (450 km) northwest of Honolulu in the Hawaiian Islands. Nihoa is composed of 170 acres (0. 7 km²)of dry land, surrounded by 140,554 acres (570 km²) of coral reef. The north
- NeckerThis article discusses the Hawaiian island known as Necker Island. There is also a "Necker Island" in the British Virgin Islands. Necker Island ( Hawaiian: Mokumanumanu is a small uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, 12. 9km (8 miles) north of the Tro
- French Frigate ShoalsThe French Frigate Shoals ( Hawaiian: Knemiloha'i is the largest atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Its name commemorates French explorer Jean-Francois de La Perouse, who nearly lost two frigates when attempting to navigate the shoals. It consist
- Gardner Pinnacles
- Maro Reef
- Laysan
- Lisianski
- Pearl and Hermes Reef
- Midway (temporary residential facilities)
- Kure
Visitor information on Hawai‘i will often state that there are 137 islands in the Hawaiian chain. This number includes minor islands offshore of the main islands, and individual islets in each atoll. (See Hawai‘i state government .pdf file, Table 05.09: [1]).
Except for Midway which is an unincorporated territory of the United States, these islands are administered as the State of Hawaii — the 50th of the United States of America.
