For many, Hawaii with its warm and tropical climate, beautiful beaches and active volcanoes is a fantastic destination, but apart from wonderful views, this is an exciting place culturally and historically. Because Hawaii is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, you have influences from both North America and Asia, and these are mixed with your own culture. In Hawaii, there are more than a million people living permanently and every year a large crowd of tourists comes from all corners of the world. The capital is Honolulu and is located on the island of O’ahu.
Hawaii is not a country of its own but one of the US states. The state includes almost the entire volcanic Hawaiian archipelago. The eight main islands are located in the southeastern part of the archipelago. The word Hawaii comes from the Proto-Polynesian Sawaiki which translates to “homeland”. The word reappears in other languages spoken on islands in the Pacific Ocean.
Geography and climate
Hawaii has a tropical climate which, due to easterly winds, is not as humid and hot as it could be. Here you can actually see snow if you go up to 4,000 meters altitude on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa during the winter months. Most of Hawaii has two seasons which is the dry season between May and October and the rainy season which is between October and April. The climate can be a little different depending on the island you are on, and also on individual islands where there are high mountains and thus height differences that give different temperatures.
The eight main islands are: Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui and Hawaiʻi which is the largest island and is therefore often called the big island when you want to point out that you are talking about the island and not about the state as whole. Geographically, the archipelago is part of Polynesia’s subregion Oceania. Hawaii is considered the southernmost state in the United States and it is interesting to note that this is a state that has no border with any other state in the United States as it is not located on the mainland.
Tourism
Tourism is a very important part of Hawaii’s economy. Figures from 2003 showed that that year there had been over 6 million visitors to the Hawaiian Islands and this generated revenue of more than $ 10 billion. Because the weather is so mild all year round, Hawaii is a tourist destination for all months of the year. Most come during the summer months and many invest in Hawaii when winter comes and you want to escape the cold and snow for a wonderful time on the beach. Hawaii has several popular festivals that people also come to attend such as the annual Merrie Monarch Festival which is a hula hula competition and as Hawaii’s international film festival.
