General Information
The Hawaiian Islands sit right in the middle of the North Pacific just a touch south of the Tropic of Cancer.
Today, more than 130 islands, islets, and shoals make up the Hawaiian Islands, stretching 1,600 miles across an expanse of the North Pacific. Some geologists maintain that the “Hot Spot”, located primarily under the Big Island, remains relatively stationary. According to this viewpoint, the 1,600 mile spread of the Hawaiian archipelago is due to a northwestern drifting effect of three to five inches per year.
With the center of activity under the Big Island, the Mauna Loa and Kilauea volcanoes regularly add more land to the only state in the U.S. that is literally still growing. About 30 miles southeast of the Big Island is Loihi Sea Mount, 3,000 feet below the waves. Frequent eruptions bring it closer and closer to the surface and are expected to create another island in only 10,000 years.
Hawaii is not the smallest state - it is larger than Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Delaware. Together, all the Hawaiian islands constitute 6,500 square miles. The eight major islands of Hawaii stretch over 400 miles of Pacific, and from northwest to southeast include: Ni’ihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, Lanai, Kahoolawe , and Hawaii (known as the Big Island.) Ni’ihau and Kahoolawe are not covered here at this time.
The Big Island has an area of 4035 sq. miles (and is 93 miles long and 76 miles wide). The area called South Point is the southernmost point in the USA.
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General Information
