HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 



HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 



HAWAII : 



Hawaiian Islands. Map of the chain of islands which 

 form a territory of the U.S.A. 



Hawaiian Islands OR HAWAII. 

 Chain of islands in the Pacific 

 Ocean. Formerly called Sandwich 

 Islands, they constitute a territory 

 of the U.S.A. They consist of eight 

 larger inhabited and several smaller 

 uninhabited islands of volcanic 

 origin, contain a number of active 

 and quiescent volcanoes, and cover 

 an area of 6,449 sq. m. The inhab- 

 ited islands are Hawaii, 4,015 sq. 

 m. ; Maui, 728 sq. m. ; Oahu, 600 sq. 

 m.; Molokai, 261 sq. m. ; Kauai, 544 

 sq. m.; Lauai, 135 sq. m. ; Niihau, 

 97 sq. m. ; and Kahoolawe, 69 sq. m. 



Most of the islands are girdled by 

 coral reefs and the larger of them 

 are mountainous, the loftiest sum- 

 mits, on Hawaii, being the vol- 

 canoes of Mauna Kea and Mauna 

 Loa, 13,805 ft. and 13,760 ft. high 

 respectively. Kilauea, on the E. of 

 Mauna Loa, is a constantly agitated 

 lava lake about 8 m. in circumfer- 

 ence, and the greatest active crater. 

 Hawaii is the largest mass of vol- 

 canic material in the world ; it rises 

 30,000 ft. from the ocean bed and 

 consists almost entirely of lava. 

 On Maui is Haleakala, whose crater, 

 19 m. in circumference, is the 

 largest extant. 



The climate is agreeable, being 

 tempered by the N.E. trade winds 

 which prevail for three -fourths of 

 the year. The extremes of tempera- 

 ture range between 54 F. and 89 

 F. and the rainfall averages about 

 55 ins., most of which falls in the 

 islands to the W. At Honolulu the 

 mean temperature is 76 F. and 

 the annual rainfall 32 ins. The mts. 

 inland from Hilo Bay form, how- 

 ever, one of the rainiest places in 

 the world ; the annual precipitation 

 frequently exceeds 200 ins. ; here 

 the persistent warm moisture-laden 

 trades deposit part of their load of 

 water. The general humidity of 

 the atmosphere is harmful to Euro 

 peans with a tendency to tuber- 

 culosis. The flora is rich and 

 diversified. The mountains are 

 largely forest-clad, characteristic 

 trees being the koa, koaia, candle- 

 nut, and sandalwood. Screw-pines, 

 ferns, and a variety of flowering 



plants abound, 

 and among im- 

 ported trees and 

 shrubs are the 

 banana, mango, 

 pineapple, coco- 

 nut, gooseberry, 

 and tamarind. 



Mammals are 

 tew and reptiles 

 are represented 

 solely by the 

 lizard, but bird 

 species number 

 upwards of 

 seventy, and in- 

 clude man 



cotton, and rubber are exported. 

 Sulphur, pyrites, sal ammoniac, 

 copperas, common salt, and other 

 minerals occur. Most of the foreign 

 trade is with the U.S.A., which 

 takes about 97 p.c. of the exports. 

 There are 342 m. of rlys. on the 

 four larger islands, the principal line 



peculiar to the islands. Thousands 

 of sheep are pastured on the lower 

 slopes of the mountains and agri- 

 culture receives considerable atten- 

 tion. The production of sugar is 

 by far the most important industry, 

 the crop representing about three- 

 fourths of the entire products of 

 the territory. Rice, fruits, especially 

 pineapples, coffee, sisal hemp, wool, 



Hawaiian Islands. 1. Cutting cane 



on a sugar plantation. 2. Natives 



cutting pineapples. 3. Waterfall 



on Kauai Island 



being that which extends from 

 Honolulu northward round the 

 greater part of the coast of Oahu. 

 In addition, about 635 m. of private 

 lines serve the plantations. Hono- 

 lulu (q.v.), the capital and chief 

 port, is visited by several steamship 

 lines, and Pearl Harbour is a naval 

 station. Other harbours are Hilo 

 on Hawaii and Kahului on Maui. 



The indigenous population, be- 

 longing to the brown Polynesian 

 race, are of good physique and 

 handsome, but little inclined to in- 

 dustry. In language and religion 

 they are related to the Tahitians. 

 Their number has steadily de- 

 creased, and is now greatly ex- 

 ceeded by the Japanese, who re- 

 present two-fifths of the entire 

 population, which is about 250,600. 

 Other large sections of the inhabit- 

 ants are the Americans, the Portu- 

 guese, the Filipinos, and the Chin- 

 ese. The latter are now excluded 

 from immigration. Europeans 

 number about 1,000, and by these 



