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Hawaii

HawaiiHawaii is the most recent of the 50 U.S. states (joined the Union on August 21, 1959), and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean.

The state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian Island chain, which comprises 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) Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe and Hawaii. The last is the largest and is often called "The Big Island" to avoid confusion with the state as a whole.

The islands of Hawaii were formed a few thousand years ago by undersea volcanoes.

Hawaii is the most isolated population center on the face of the earth.

Hawaii is 2,390 miles from California; 3,850 miles from Japan; 4,900 miles

from China; and 5,280 miles from the Philippines.

Hawaii is actually the only U.S. state that is not physically situated in North

America.

Hawaii is derived from the Polynesian word

hawaiki, which means ''place of the Gods.''

Brief History of Hawaii

• Settled by early Polynesians around 500 AD, Hawaii was discovered by Englishman Captain James Cook in 1778. Christian missionaries came in 1820. Hawaii remained under native rule until 1893, when it became the Republic of Hawaii and, in 1900, became a U.S. Territory.

Hawaii• The flag of the state of

Hawaii (Hawaiian: Ka Hae Hawaii) is the officialstandard symbolizing Hawaii as a US state. The same flag had also previously been used by the kingdom, protectorate, republic, and territory of Hawaii. It is the only US state flag to feature the Union Flag of the United Kingdom, a holdover of the period in Hawaiian history when it was under the influence of the British Empire.

• The field of the flag is composed of eight horizontal stripes symbolizing the eight major islands (Hawaii, Oahu, Kauai, Kahoolawe,Lānai, Maui, Molokai and Niihau).

Hawaii state language• Hawaii state

language: Hawaiian language, English language.

The Hawaiian alphabet has 13 letters, five vowels (long and short) and eight consonants, one of them being a glottal stop (called okina in Hawaiian).

You can also hear many other languages in Hawaii, like Japanese, German, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

The word «ALOHA»

• The word “aloha” has

at least four meanings;

it can mean “love”,

“welcome”, “good-bye”

and “friendship”.

• The state of Hawaii has

been nicknamed

Aloha State.

Hawaiian Standard Time• Hawaii has its own time zone known as

the Hawaiian Standard Time. It runs 2 hrs behind Pacific Standard Time * and 5 hrs behind Eastern Standard Time * *.

• Notes:Континентальная часть США имеет четыре временных пояса: восточное, центральное [ Central Standard Time ], горное [ Mountain Standard Time ] и тихоокеанское время [ Pacific Standard Time ].

• Pacific Standard Time PST * -тихоокеанское время Поясное время, действующее на территории штатов Вашингтон, Орегон, Невада и Калифорния, а также в западных округах штатов Айдахо и Юта. На три часа отстает от восточного поясного времени [ Eastern Standard Time ].

• Eastern Standard Time * * - EST восточное поясное время Поясное время восточного побережья США. На пять часов позже гринвичского времени (на 8 часов позже московского поясного времени).

• From east to west, Hawaii is the widest state in the United States.

• Hawaii area keeps growing because of

volcanic activity within this area.

• Hawaii climate is tropical, but humidity

and air temperature are not extreme like in other

tropical areas.

In 1992, there was a horrible hurricane in

Hawaii, and it resulted in great damage.

Hawaii state dance: Hula

• Hula - sensuous mimetic Hawaiian dance, performed sitting or standing, with undulating gestures to instruments and chant. Originally, the hula was a religious dance performed by trained dancers before the king or ordinary people to promote fecundity, to honour the gods, or to praise the chiefs. Now, hula dance is mainly for entertainment.

• A hula dancer usually wears a grass skirt or a leaf skirt, a flower necklace (called "lei" in Hawaiian), and sometimes a flower in the hair. Male dancers and female dancers can both dance hula. The women wore short skirts (pa’us) and the men tapa loincloths (malos). Wristlets and anklets of whale teeth or bone and necklaces and fillets of leis (interwoven flowers) were common ornaments.

HonoluluHonolulu is the capital and largest city of Hawaii, on the southeast coast of the island of Oahu.

In the Hawaiian language, Honolulumeans "sheltered bay" or "place of shelter".

Honolulu has the longest border for any city in the world and has about 100 beaches!

Honolulu can be in short described as a fun and ultra-modern city with vast diversity. Most of the people in this world want to explore the city of Honolulu and make it their ideal travel destination. The county of Honolulu houses nearly 800,000 people of different races and cultures. Due to this, Oahu has received a nickname as «The Gathering Place». The best gathering place is the huge Waikiki Beach, which is a famous family destination.

Honolulu• The best tourist site today

named as Pearl Harbour in Honolulu was been attacked by Japan on December 7, 1941 due to which the United States entered into the World War II till 1944. Pearl Harbour is now a frequently visited tourist attraction in Hawaii. What is more interesting in it is that Pearl Harbour welcomes many visitors from Japan as well.

Nature of Hawaii• Hawaii is famous for its

beauty and flowers. Hawaiian flora is rich and there are numerous exotic species. Some rare plants can be found there, too. Hawaii people like the yellow hibiscus – it is a state symbol.

• Hawaii is the only coffee

producing state in America.

• This island state is one of the largest producers of pineapples in the world, and accounts for about one-third of the world's commercial pineapple produce.

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• The state has the

world's largest

plantation of

orchids and is the

largest harvester

of macadamia

nuts.

The loudest creature in the world, the Humpback Whale, is a native of Hawaii. It is also the official Marine

Mammal of this state.

• Established in 1916,

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has

two of the most active volcanoes in

the world: Mauna Loa and Kilauea.

Joining them are the inactive Mauna

Kea, Kohala, and Hualalai. Ancient

Hawaiians worshiped Pele, goddess

of volcanoes, and believed her

wrath caused the mountains’

eruptions that destroyed their

villages and agricultural lands.

Haleakalā Crater

Haleakalā Crater in

Molokai, is the

world's largest

dormant volcano.

The hardened lava fields of Mauna Loa were used

by astronauts to train for walking on the moon.

The largest sea cliffs in the world are located at Kalaupapa National Historic Park on Molokai.

• The oldest Catholic

Cathedral in all of

America, Cathedral

of Our Lady of

Peace, in Honolulu

was built in 1843.

The people of Hawaii have the longest expected lifespan in all of America (77.1

years for men, and 82.5 for women).

• The Big Island,

because of its

strategic location, is

an important

military base of the

U.S. Armed Forces.

The popular T.V series, Lost was shot

in these beautiful islands.

President Barack Obama also hails from this island state.

(Born in Honolulu, Hawaii).

• Hawaii is the

birthplace of

surfing. It was a

sport invented in

Hawaii by kings

and chieftains.