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General Information
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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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