Hawaii Facts
Hawaii Facts
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| Interesting Hawaii Facts: |
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| It is believed that Hawaii was inhabited by Polynesian settlers as far back as 300 CE. Later settlers included those from Bora Bora and Raiatea in the 11th century. |
| Some believe that Spanish explorers may have landed in Hawaii in the 1500s, but the first documentation was by James Cook in 1778. |
| The only state not geographically located in North America is Hawaii. |
| The name Hawaii is believed to originate from the word hawaiki, a Proto-Polynesian word that means 'homeland' or 'the place of the gods'. |
| Hawaii is the only state to be increasing in size. This is due to continuous volcanic eruptions. |
| Hawaii's nickname is the 'Aloha State'. |
| Hawaii's state tree is the kukui, also known as the candlenut. |
| Hawaii's state bird is the nene, or Hawaiian goose. |
| The state song for Hawaii is 'Hawaii Ponoi'. |
| Hawaii's capital city is Honolulu. |
| The Hawaiian Islands encompass an area of 10,931 square miles. |
| Barack Obama was born in Hawaii. He is the only president to have not been born in the continental U.S. |
| Both English and Hawaiian are official languages in the state. Other languages spoken include Tongan, Samoan and Pidgin. |
| Polynesians invented surfing when they settled Hawaii thousands of years ago. Surfing is also called heenalu. |
| Only the monk seal and hoary bat are native mammals to Hawaii. All other were brought by humans. |
| The island Molokai was once a leper colony. |
| Mt. Waialeale, Kauai is the rainiest place in the world, with approximately 476 inches of rain each year. |
| The only U.S. state that grows coffee is Hawaii. |
| Hawaii was formed by under-water volcanoes thousands of years ago. |
| In Hawaii there is no daylight savings time. They go by Hawaiian Standard Time. |
| There are no minorities in Hawaii, as everyone is a minority. |
| On December 7th, 1941, Imperial Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, resulting in several thousand deaths. This was the reason for the United States entering World War II. |
| The population of Hawaii was approximately one million in 1778, but because of disease and war, it declined to only approximately 22,000 by 1919. Today the population is approximately 1.4 million. |
| Hawaii is responsible for most of the world's macadamia nuts. |
| Hawaii is a popular tourist destination year round due to its warm climate. |
| The Hawaiian alphabet has only 12 letters including A, E, I, O, U, H, K, L, M, N, P, and W. |
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