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Facts About Hawaii

HISTORY OF THE ISLANDS

The Hawaiian Islands are made up of a chain of eight separate islands.

Hawaii is the largest of these islands, and Hila is its busiest city. On Hawaii there are two high volcano peaks, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, which make up the center of the island. People of this island make a living by growing orchids, macadamia nuts, sugar, or by raising cattle. The headquarters for the famous Parker Ranch can be found on the slopes of Mauna Kea. Other interesting and beautiful sights on Hawaii include the orchid gardens in Hila, and Akaka Falls.

Oahu is the home of the capital of Hawaii, Honolulu. This is an interesting city with its exotic races, exciting restaurants, and beautiful homes. The community of Waikiki is also on Oahu, and there you can see palm trees, hula girls, shopwindows, and plenty of sunshine. The scenery of this island is filled with plantation villages, waterfalls, pineapple fields, the jutting heights of Diamond Head, and the never-to-be-forgotten naval base, Pearl Harbor.

Maui is known as the Valley Island, because two big mountain ranges rise at both ends. The highest peak is the dormant Haleakala Crater, and the crater is big enough to bury the whole island of Manhattan inside it. Another interesting sight on Maui is a thin piece of lava that stands very tall and straight, balancing on a rock below; it is called lao’s Needle. Maui produces pineapple and cattle. Its residents have a slogan: “Maui is the best.”

Molokai is the fifth largest of the Islands. At least a third of the land is owned by ranchers. The leper colony on Molokai was founded by Father Damien in 1873 and now can be visited in complete safety. In 1946 the discovery of sulfone drugs led to treatment and cure of the disease. Molokai is perhaps one of the most unspoiled parts of the Islands, because much of it is like the Hawaii of years ago. A particularly beautiful sight is Halawa Valley where only a few families live and grow taro.

Lanai is an island that is one great pineapple plantation; its workers have a very modern city with movies, stores, and nice homes. During the harvesting season nearly the entire town goes to work. The siren wails at 4:30 in the morning, and trucks carry workers to the fields.

Interesting sights include the Garden of the Gods, which is a wilderness of ravines and sharp pinnacles, and a beach where dozens of ships have been wrecked on the Lanai reef. A visitor might find something from one of the old ships washed ashore on the beach, although it would probably be no more than a rusty bolt.

Kahoolawe and Niihau are not open to visitors. Kahoolawe is used by the U.S. Navy as a testing ground, and Niihau is privately owned.

Kauai is called the Garden Isle, because it is covered with green plants and has no dry sandy spots like the other islands. The airport on this island is called Barking Sands because there is internal motion of the beach sand in certain areas that makes an odd barking sound. The big industry on Kauai is sugar. Nearly half of the island population works for sugar plantations and sugar mills. In Kilauea, a little plantation village, you can see a lighthouse, and from the jutting cliff the view is breathtaking.

THE SANDWICH ISLANDS

The Polynesians were the first people to come to Hawaii. They sailed there in great canoes from other Pacific islands a thousand years ago. Later, about A.D. 1200, other Polynesians moved to the islands from Tahiti. The early settlers may have named the islands Hawaii in honor of a chieftain named Hawaiiloa.