HAWAI'I-1
(Last updated 3/15/03)


Hawai'i is the world's longest island chain, stretching for over 1500 miles and comprising over 135 islands, although only the 8 major (and newest) islands (about 2400 mi from the coast of the US) are inhabited (with the exception of Kaho'olawe, which was used as a US Naval bombing range). The waters around the main islands have already been designated as the nation's 11th National Marine Sanctuary to protect breeding grounds of the humpback whale; the remaining islands, which stretch past Midway into the Pacific, comprise only about 3 sq mi of land area but contain over 70% of the coral reefs in the US, and are home to over 7000 marine species, including the endangered monk seal and leatherback, hawksbill, and green sea turtles; after initial designation by executive order of President Bill Clinton in 2000, they are moving slowly through the process of becoming the nation's 14th NMS.

Diamond Head (left), on the southeast tip of O'ahu, is the most recognized landmark in the islands. The peak is actually the high point of a heat-fused volcanic ash (tuff) cone (right) at the southeastern end of the Ko'olau Mountains, a remnant of one of the two shield volcanoes that formed O'ahu starting about 2.5-3 million years ago; the other volcano gave rise to the Wai'anae Mountains, which form the spine of the western half of the island.

The crater of Diamond Head (left; a recent fire had blackened all of the vegetation in its interior) was formed about 300,000 years ago during a single, brief eruption - a little over 3200 ft across, it covers about 350 acres (the 1207-ft tuff cone of Koko Crater, from an eruption ca 10,000 years ago, and Koko Head can be seen in the background); the 761-ft high summit is on its southwest rim. DH was purchased by the Federal Government in 1904; fortification began in 1908, starting with the Kapahulu Tunnel thru the north wall for access and Fort Ruger in the crater interior, followed by the addition of 4 coastal artillery batteries between 1910 and 1916 and another in 1943. The 0.8-mi hike to the top of DH starts inside the crater and follows a steep trail (built by the US Army Corps of Engineers in 1908), which includes two long, dark tunnels - one a 225 footer - and two steep stairways - one with 74 steps, the other with 99 (center), leading to the four-level Fire Control Station (right; 1908-10) at the summit

Viewed from the summit, the 55-ft high Diamond Head Lighthouse (1917; left), sited 147 above sea level on the side of DH, contains the Fresnel lens of the original 1899 structure; the DHL "replaced" the navigational fires that were lit on the summit of DH by native Hawaiians - hence one translation of the Hawaiian name Lae'ahi as fire headland (a more literal translation is "brow of the tuna"!). Looking west from the summit, a great overview of the city of Honolulu (right), with 500-acre Kapiolani Park (built and named after his queen by King Kalakaua, the "merry monarch," in the 1870's) and the Waikiki Shell (in the circle of trees) in the foreground

Back in Honolulu, a view of the Ala Wai Canal (1922; left), which diverts O'ahu's mountain rains into the ocean before they can reach the southeastern coast; its completion made possible the conversion of what had been a coastal swampland into the 2-mile long crescent of Waikiki Beach. The Canal empties into the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor - views of the harbor's Marina (center, right), with some of the hotels that now line Waikiki Beach in the background

At the tip of 76-acre Ala Moana Park, just west of the Harbor and Canal, an old longboarder poses for a professional photographer (left); also in AMP, the flower of the Royal Poinciana tree (center; 'ohai-'ula), a native of Madagascar; near the end of the day, a rainbow (right) suddenly appears over the mountains behind Honolulu

Surrounded by hi-rises in the center of Waikiki Beach (left), the legendary Royal Hawaiian (right; 1927), a pink stucco Spanish-Moorish style resort (built by the Matson Line as a destination for the passengers of its luxury liners), brought - and still brings - famous people, and fame, to WB

The yellow hibiscus (left) is the state flower of Hawai'i, although the white hibiscus is the only native; a bronze statue in front of Kuhio Beach on Waikiki honors Duke Paoa Kahanamoku (center), champion surfer (he introduced the sport to the US and Australia) and gold medal Olympic swimmer (he participated in 4, from 1912 to 1932); the white plumeria tree (right; known elsewhere as frangipani) provides a common but prized flower for leis

A 9-ft bronze statue of King Kamehameha (left) is located in front of the Iolani Palace; dedicated in 1893, it is actually a copy of the 1878 original (by American artist Thomas Ridgeway Gould), which was lost at sea (off the Falkland Islands) during shipment from Europe; the original was later recovered and placed at KK's birthplace near the northernmost point of Kohala on the Big Island; a second copy, cast in 1969, represents Hawai'i in the Statuary Hall of the US Capitol. [Born some time before 1758, Kamehameha the Great had conquered the BI, O'ahu, Maui, Lana'i, and Molokai by 1791, and in 1810, with the addition of Kaua'i and Ni'ihau, united all of the Hawaiian Islands into a single kingdom, which his dynasty ruled for nearly a century.] The Iolani Palace (center; "Ali'iolani Hale," built by King Kalakaua in 1882) served as the seat of government for the kingdom of Hawai'i until 1893 (when Queen Lili'uokalani was deposed by a committee of foreign businessmen - backed by the US ambassador and his military troops), then as the capitol of the Provisional Government, Republic (1894), Territory (annexed to the US in 1898), and finally State (1959). The Royal Coat of Arms of the Kingdom (right) decorate the gates leading to the palace

Facing the Palace from across the street in front of the new capitol stands a 6-ft tall (lifesize) sculpture of Queen Lili'uokalani (left; 1982 - by Marianna Pineda); in her hands she holds copies of the Constitution, the Kumu Lipo - an ancient geneology of the Hawaiian people, and the popular song Aloha O'e - which she wrote. The 100-ft tall, pavillion-style State Capitol Building (center; 1969 - extensively renovated 1991-5) sits in a reflecting pool to represent Hawaii's island character, and contains many other symbolic design features as well, from its surrounding 40 pillars representing the island's life-giving palms to its conical-shaped legislative chambers representing its volcanoes. Replicas of the State Seal (right; originally designed for the republic of Hawaii in 1895 by Viggo Jacobsen based on the kingdom's royal seal, it has only minor modifications), each 15 ft in diameter and weighing 7500 pounds, hang over the Capitol's makai (towards the ocean) and mauka (towards the mountains) entrances

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