ALOHA
ALOHA
ALOHA
W E L C O M E T O
W E L C O M E T O
W E L C O M E T O
H A W A I ’ I !
H A W A I ’ I !
H A W A I ’ I !
Hawai’i! An exotic leisure paradise for tourists
from all over the world, so beautiful and out of
reach, that for many people it only lives in
their imagination.
The Hawaiian archipelago is an island state of
the United States, about 2,000 miles (3,200
km) southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of
the two non-contiguous U.S. states (along with
Alaska), it is the only state not on the North
American mainland, the only state that is an
archipelago, and the only state in the tropics.
Hawai’i consists of 137 islands, shaped by
volcanic activity, representing the
northernmost extension of the vast
Polynesian Triangle in the south and central
Pacific, and overall included in the Polynesian
subregion of Oceania. The eight main islands,
from northwest to southeast, are Niʻihau,
Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe,
Maui, and Hawaiʻi, after which the state is
named.
The latter is often called the "Big Island" or "Hawai’i
Island", to avoid confusion with the state name itself.
The uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
make up most of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine
National Monument, the largest protected area in
the U.S. and the fourth largest in the world.
Legend has it that the main island was named after
Hawaiʻiloa, a figure from Hawaiian folklore. He is said
to have discovered the islands when they were first
settled. The word Hawaiʻi is very similar to Proto-
Polynesian Sawaiki, with the reconstructed meaning
"homeland”. Derived or related words are found in
other Polynesian languages, including Māori
(Hawaiki), Rarotongan (Avaiki) and Samoan (Savaiʻi).
The aboriginal culture of Hawai’i is Polynesian. Two-
thirds of Hawai’i residents live on O'ahu, home to the
state's capital and largest city, Honolulu. Hawai’i is
one of the most demographically diverse U.S. states,
owing to its central location in the Pacific and over
two centuries of migration. As one of only seven
majority-minority states, it has the most numerous
ethnic groups of Asian Americans and multiracial
Americans, and the lowest percentage of White
Americans of any state.
By Lisa E. Kirkwood
SHE TALKS | 26