Facts About Hawaii You May Have Not Known

Hawaii is a fascinating place, with rich history and many geological wonders. Most people know it as a top vacation destination and agree it is magnificently beautiful. But what do you really know about Hawaii? Here are some facts about Hawaii that you may have not known, but are interesting to learn about.

Facts About Hawaii in General

• Hawaii has many mountains and volcanoes that scatter the area. But did you know that some of the biggest mountains in the world are found here? Imagine a mountain that rises from over 18,000 feet below the see to almost 14,000 above sea level! The volcanic mountains, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on Hawaii’s Big Island stand almost 32,000 feet. • About five million years old, the oldest islands among the main islands are Kauai and Niihau. Kure Atolls and Midway have volcanic areas that go back as far as 28 million years. • Hawaii has the most secluded chunks of land anywhere on earth. The islands are tucked away into the midst of the North Pacific Ocean, with the closest land mass being California at almost 2,400 miles away. • Molokai is home to some of the tallest sea cliffs found anywhere on earth. • The “Father of Modern Surfing” and winner of Olympic medals, Duke Kahanamoku was raised on Waikiki (Oahu). You can see an amazing statue of him on Kuhio Beach, where he welcomes you to Waikiki with wide-open arms. • The first Asian-American that made it into the United States Senate was Hiram Fong of Hawaii. He was elected to the Senate in 1959 and came from a Chinese background. • After several attempts and years of trying, Hawaii was honored to be the 50th state brought into the union in 1959. Hawaii became officially called the “Aloha State” by a legislative act. • If you look at the length of the State of Hawaii from east to west, you’ll see that Hawaii is actually the widest state in the U.S. • What time zone do you live in? Well, if you live in Hawaii you have your own time zone. Hawaii is in the Hawaiian Standard Time, where there’s no daylight savings time. During the summer Hawaii trails the U.S. West Coast by two hours. During the winter time, though, they trail by three hours. • The oldest newspaper found west of the Rocky Mountains is the Sandwich Island Gazette in Hawaii.

A Few Interesting Facts About Honolulu

• Due to Hawaii’s state constitution, any island that doesn’t have a name is part of Honolulu. There are small islands that aren’t populated called the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, therefore, all belong to Honolulu. This means that technically, Honolulu is the largest city in the world panning around 1,500 miles long. • Honolulu is home to the oldest garden found in Hawaii, Foster Botanical Garden. It was built in 1855 and is found by Iolani Palace.

Maui Fun Facts

• Along the north shore in Maui is a well known road called “Road to Hana”. This is a scenic, narrow route that stretches over 55 miles and includes 26 bridges as well as an astonishing number of curves (over 600) • Maui is home to Haleakala National Park that attracts visitors from all over the world. Haleakala Crater is found here, which is the largest dormant volcano in the world (last eruption in 1790). The crater is 7 miles across, 2 miles wide, and 2,600 feet deep.

Interesting Facts About Kauai

• The “Grand Canyon of the Pacific” is found on Hawaii, the Waimea Canyon. Being 3,000 feet deep and 12 miles long, it makes you feel as if you’re in another world. • Kauai, or the Garden Isle, is over six million years old. That makes it the oldest of the Hawaii islands. It’s called the Garden Isle because of the gorgeous green mountains that spike along the ridges, picture-perfect beaches and exotic, tropical surroundings. • Hollywood loves the landscape of Kauai, having filmed there many times. Jurassic Park movies, Blue Hawaii, and Fantasy Island are only some of what’s been filmed here.