Hawaii (island) 1 Hawaii (island) Hawaiʻi Nickname: The Big Island Landsat mosaic, 1999–2001. Geography [1] Location 19°34′N 155°30′W Area 4,028.0 sq mi (10,432 km2) Area rank 1st, largest Hawaiian Island Highest elevation 13,803 ft (4,207.2 m) Highest point Mauna Kea Country United States Symbols Flower Red Pua Lehua ('Ohi'a blossom) Color ʻUlaʻula (red) Demographics Population 185,079 (as of 2010) Density 46/sq mi (119,14/km²) Hawaii (island) 2 Hawaii County, Hawaii Seal Location in the state of Hawaii Hawaii's location in the U.S. Founded 1905 Seat Hilo Largest city Hilo Area • Total 5,086.70 sq mi (13,174 km2) • Land 4,028.02 sq mi (10,433 km2) • Water 1,058.69 sq mi (2,742 km2), 21% Population • (2010) 185,079 • Density 46/sq mi (17.7/km²) Congressional district 2nd Time zone Hawaii-Aleutian: UTC-10 [2] Website co.hawaii.hi.us Hawaiʻi, also called the Island of Hawaiʻi,[3] the Big Island or Hawaiʻi Island (/həˈwaɪ.i/ or /həˈwɑːiː/; Hawaiian: [həˈwɐiʔi] or [həˈvɐiʔi]), which comprises Hawaiʻi County and the Hilo, HI Micropolitan Statistical Area, is an island, county, and Micropolitan Statistical Area located in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands. It is the largest and the southeastern-most of the Hawaiian islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of 4,028 square miles (10,430 km2), it is larger than all of the Aerial view, 3D computer-generated image other islands in the archipelago combined and is the largest island in the United States. The island is often referred to as the "Big Island" to reduce confusion between the island and the state. As of the 2010 Census the population was 185,079. The county seat and largest city is Hilo. There are no incorporated cities in Hawaiʻi County (see Hawaii Counties). Hawaiʻi County has a mayor-council form of Hawaii (island) 3 government. Hawaii County is one of seven counties in the United States to share the same name as the state in which it is located (the other six counties are Arkansas County, Idaho County, Iowa County, New York County, Oklahoma County, and Utah County). History Main article: History of Hawaii Hawaiʻi is said to have been named for Hawaiʻiloa, the legendary Polynesian navigator who first discovered it. Other accounts attribute the name to the legendary realm of Hawaiki, a place from which the Polynesian people are said to have originated (see also Manua), the place where they go in the afterlife, the realm of the gods and goddesses. Captain James Cook, the English explorer and navigator who discovered the Hawaiian Islands, called them the "Sandwich Islands" after his patron, the Earl of Sandwich. Cook was killed on the Big Island at Kealakekua Bay on February 14, 1779, in a melee which James Kealoha Beach, "4-Mile Beach", in Hilo followed the theft of a ship's boat.[4] Hawaiʻi was the home island of Paiʻea Kamehameha, later known as Kamehameha the Great. Kamehameha united most of the Hawaiian islands under his rule in 1795, after several years of war, and gave the kingdom and the island chain the name of his native island. Geology and geography Hawaiʻi County has a total area of 5,086.70 square miles (13,174.5 km2); 4,028.02 square miles (10,432.5 km2) is land and 1,058.69 square miles (2,742.0 km2) is water (mostly all off the ocean shoreline but counted in the total area by the U.S. Census Bureau). The county's land area comprises 62.7 percent of the state's land area. It is the highest percentage by any county in the United States. (Delaware's Sussex County comes in second at 48.0 percent, while Rhode Island's Providence County is third at 39.55 percent.) In greatest dimension, the island is 93 miles (150 km) across and has a land area of 4,028 square miles (10,430 km2) comprising 62% of the Hawaiian Islands' land area. Measured from its sea floor base to its highest peak, Mauna Kea is the world's tallest mountain, taller than Mount Everest is above sea level.[5] Hawaii (island) 4 Volcanism The Island of Hawaiʻi is built from five separate shield volcanoes that erupted somewhat sequentially, one overlapping the other. These are (from oldest to youngest): • Kohala—extinct • Mauna Kea—dormant • Hualālai—active • Mauna Loa—active, partly within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park • Kīlauea—active: has been erupting continuously since 1983; part of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park Geological evidence from exposures of old surfaces on the south and west flanks of Mauna Loa led to the proposal that two ancient volcanic The five shield volcanoes shields (named Ninole and Kulani) were all but buried by the younger Mauna Loa. Geologists now consider these "outcrops" to be part of the earlier building of Mauna Loa. Another volcano which has already disappeared below the surface of the ocean is Māhukona. Because Mauna Loa and Kīlauea are active volcanoes, the island of Hawaii is still growing. Between January 1983 and September 2002, lava flows added 543 acres (220 ha) to the island. Lava flowing from Kīlauea has destroyed several towns, including Kapoho in 1960, and Kalapana and Kaimu in 1990. In 1987 lava filled in Queen's Bath, a large, L-shaped, freshwater pool in the Kalapana area. The southmost point in the 50 States of the United States, Ka Lae, is on Hawaii. The nearest landfall to the south is in the Line Islands. To the north of the Island of Hawaii is the Island of Maui, whose Haleakala volcano is visible from Hawaii across the Alenuihaha Channel. About 35 km (22 mi) southeast of Hawaii lies the undersea volcano known as Loihi. Loihi is an erupting seamount that now reaches about 3,200 feet (980 m) below the surface of the ocean. Continued activity from Loihi will likely cause it to break the surface of the ocean Steam plume as Kīlauea red lava enters the ocean sometime from 10,000 to 100,000 years from now. at three Waikupanaha and one Ki lava ocean entries. Some surface lava is seen too. The image was taken on April 16, 2008. The Great Crack The Great Crack is an eight-mile-long, 60 feet (18 m) wide and 60 feet (18 m) deep fissure in the island, in the district of Kau. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), The Great Crack is the result of crustal dilation from magmatic intrusions into the southwest rift zone of Kilauea.[6] While neither the earthquake of 1868 nor that of 1975 caused a measurable change in The Great Crack, lava welled out of the lower 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) of the Great Crack in 1823. Hawaii (island) 5 The visitor can find trails, rock walls, and archaeological sites from as old as the 12th century around the Great Crack. Approximately 1,951 acres (7.90 km2) of private land were purchased during the Presidency of Bill Clinton, specifically to protect various artifacts in this area as well as the habitat of local wildlife. Lava entering the Pacific at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in April 2005, increasing the size of the island. The Hilina Slump Main article: Hilina Slump The Hilina Slump is a 4,760 cubic miles (19,800 km3) chunk of the south slope of the Kīlauea volcano which is slipping away from the island. Between 1990 and 1993, Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements showed a southward displacement of about 10 centimeters (four inches) per year. Undersea measurements show that a Punalu'u Black Sand Beach Park "bench" has formed a buttress and that this buttress may tend to reduce the likelihood of future catastrophic detachment. Earthquakes and tsunamis On April 2, 1868, an earthquake with a magnitude estimated between 7.25 and 7.9 on the Richter scale rocked the southeast coast of Hawaii. This was the most destructive earthquake in the recorded history of Hawaii.[7] It triggered a landslide on Mauna Loa, five miles (eight kilometers) north of Pahala, killing 31 people. A tsunami claimed 46 more lives. The villages of Punaluu, Ninole, Kawaa, Honuapo, and Keauhou Landing were severely damaged. The tsunami reportedly rolled over the tops of the coconut trees up to 60 feet (18 m) high, and it reached inland a distance of a quarter of a mile in some places. Big Island Beach On November 29, 1975, a 37-mile (60 km) wide section of the Hilina Slump dropped 11.5 feet (3.7 meters) and slid 26 feet (7.9 m) toward the ocean. This movement caused a 7.2 magnitude earthquake and a 48 feet (10 m) high tsunami. Oceanfront property was washed off its foundations in Punaluu. Two deaths were reported at Halape, and 19 other people were injured. The island suffered tsunami damage from earthquakes in Alaska on April 1, 1946, and in Chile on May 23, 1960. Downtown Hilo was severely damaged by both tsunamis, with many lives lost. Just north of Hilo, Laupahoehoe lost 16 schoolchildren and five teachers in the tsunami of 1946. In March 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the east coast of Japan again created a tsunami that caused significant damage in Hawaii. The estimated damage to public buildings alone was about three million dollars.[8] In the Kona area this tsunami washed a house into Kealakekua Bay, destroyed a yacht club and tour boat offices in Keauhou Bay, caused extensive damage in Kailua Kona, flooded the ground floor of the King Kamehameha Hotel, and permanently closed the Kona Village Resort.