http://www.traveltohawaii.org en-us Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:03:31 -0700 http://www.traveltohawaii.org/climate-of-hawaii/ The climate of Hawaii is the same as in many other tropical regions of the world, but still temperatures and humidity are to a bit less rough here than other tropical locales due to the constant trade winds blowing from the east. Summer highs are usually in the upper 80s°F, (around 31°C) during the day and mid 70s, (around 24 °C) at night. Winter temperatures during the day are usually in the low to mid 80s, (around 28 °C) and (at low elevation) seldom dipping below the mid 60s (18 °C) at night. Snow, although not usually associated with tropics, falls at the higher elevations of Mauna Kea (13,796 feet/ 4,205 meters) and Mauna Loa on the Big Island in some winter months. Snow only rarely falls on Maui's Haleakala. Mount Waiʻaleʻale (Waiʻaleʻale), on the island of Kauai, is notable for rainfall, as it has the second highest average annual rainfall on Earth, about 460 inches (38 ft. 4 in., or 11.7 m). Most of Hawaii has only two seasons: Summer from May to October, and Winter from October to April.

Local climates may be very different on each of the islands, grossly divisible into windward (Koʻolau) and leeward (Kona) areas based upon location relative to the higher mountains. Windward sides face the Northeast Trades and receive much more rainfall; leeward sides are drier and sunnier, with less rain and less cloud cover. This fact is utilized by the tourist industry, which concentrates resorts on sunny leeward coasts.

Although hurricanes don't usually occur in Hawaii, all main islands have been affected by named hurricanes. The worst hurricane to hit Hawaii was Hurricane Iniki (ʻIniki) in 1992, which showed that Hawaii was indeed vulnerable to a direct hit. ]]> Tue, 12 Aug 2008 02:05:07 -0600 http://www.traveltohawaii.org/climate-of-hawaii/ http://www.traveltohawaii.org/about-hawaii/ The State of Hawaii is a state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia. The state was admitted to the Union on August 21, 1959, making it the 50th state. Its capital is Honolulu on the island of Oahu. The most recent census puts the state's population at 1,211,537.

This state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian Island chain, which is made up of hundreds of islands spread over 1,500 miles (2,400 km). At the southeastern end of the archipelago, the eight "main islands" are (from the northwest to southeast) Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui, and Hawaiʻi. The last is by far the largest, and is often called the "Big Island" or "Big Isle" to avoid confusion with the state as a whole. This archipelago is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania.

In standard American English, Hawaii is generally pronounced /həˈwaɪiː/. In the Hawaiian language, it is generally pronounced [həˈwəiʔi] or [həˈvəiʔi]. Most residents of Hawaii use the Hawaiian pronunciation (with the glottal stop) in their English. An archipelago situated some 3,200 km (1,988 mi) southwest of the North American mainland, Hawaii is the southernmost state of the United States and the second westernmost state after Alaska. Only Hawaii and Alaska are outside the contiguous United States and do not share a border with any other U.S. state.

Hawaii's tallest mountain, Mauna Kea stands at 13,796 ft (4,205 m) and is taller than Mount Everest if followed to the base of the mountain—on the floor of the Pacific Ocean.

All of the Hawaiian islands were formed by volcanos erupting from the sea floor from a magma source described in geological theory as a hotspot. The theory maintains that as the tectonic plate beneath much of the Pacific Ocean moves in a northwesterly direction, the hot spot remains stationary, slowly creating new volcanoes. This explains why only volcanoes on the southern half of the Big Island, and the Loihi Seamount (Lōʻihi) deep below the waters off its southern coast, are presently active, with Loihi being the newest volcano to form.

The last volcanic eruption outside the Big Island occurred at Haleakala on Maui in the late 18th century, though recent research suggests that Haleakala's most recent eruptive activity could be hundreds of years earlier.

The volcanic activity and subsequent erosion created impressive geological features. The Big Island is notable as the world’s fifth highest island.

Because of the islands' volcanic formation, native life before human activity is said to have arrived by the "3 W's": wind (carried through the air), waves (brought by ocean currents), and wings (birds, insects, and whatever they brought with them). The isolation of the Hawaiian Islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and the wide range of environments to be found on high islands located in and near the tropic, has resulted in a vast array of endemic flora and fauna. Hawaii has more endangered species per square mile and has lost a higher percentage of its endemic species than anywhere else on Earth. ]]> Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:29:40 -0600 http://www.traveltohawaii.org/about-hawaii/