Interesting Facts about the Hawaiian Islands
July 28th, 2008 by Palaka
The Hawaiian Islands are a popular tourist destination. If you are planning to take a beautiful tropical vacation to Hawaii, you may be interested in brushing up on a few facts about the Hawaiian Islands.
Facts Affecting Life in Hawaii
Hawaii has its own time zone called Hawaii Standard Time. Time in Hawaii is five hours behind Eastern Standard Time, and two hours behind Pacific Standard Time. In addition, Hawaii does not participate in Daylight Saving Time. Eight islands make up the state of Hawaii: Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe and the Big Island of Hawaii.
Ethnic Diversity
Hawaii is truly a melting pot of nationalities. Oftentimes, residents of Hawaii come from such a diverse background that identifying racial characteristics is very difficult. The breakdown of Hawaii’s population is estimated to be about 34% Caucasians (called Haoles on the Islands), approximately 32% Japanese-Americans, 16 % Filipino-Americans, and nearly 5% Chinese-Americans. Nearly 80% of Hawaiian residents claim to have an Asian or Pacific heritage.
Niihau
Niihau is a privately owned Hawaiian island consisting of 69 square miles of mostly pasture fields. The island had about 240 residents and the main industry on the island is raising livestock. Access to the island of Niihau is very limited to non-residents of the island.
Hawaiian Currency
The United States dollar is the legal currency of Hawaii. Traveler’s checks are accepted throughout most of Hawaii, but finding a place to exchange foreign currency can be difficult. Smaller cities may not accept credit cards, but most heavily populated areas of the Islands accept all major credit cards.
Hawaiian Languages
Both English and Hawaiian are the official languages of Hawaii. Pidgin is a mixture of English, Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese, and Philippine languages, and is spoken on each of the Hawaiian Islands. Other languages, such as Japanese are widely spoken as well. Visitors to the Hawaiian Islands generally need to know a few Hawaiian words, if only for ordering Hawaiian food.
Interesting Facts about Hawaii
The Hawaiian Islands were completely formed by volcanic activity under the Pacific Ocean. As a result of the continued volcanic activity on the Islands, Hawaii has unique beaches featuring black sands, green sands, white sands and even pink sands.
Hawaii is the only state in the United States that has a royal palace. Tours of the royal palace are open to the public. The Royal Palace band performs for the public every Friday afternoon on the palace grounds.
Hawaii’s boundaries are constantly changing due to the continual flow of lava. Hawaii gains ground every year because of the volcanoes’ activity.
Mount Waialeale is considered to be the wettest spot on Earth with an average rainfall of 488 inches per year. Hawaiian visitors can experience tropical rainforests, desserts, sunny beaches, and snow covered mountain hikes while visiting a single island.
These facts about the Hawaiian Islands are only a sampling of the fascinating and culturally rich history of the Hawaiian Islands. You can visit the official Hawaii Tourism website (http://www.gohawaii.com/) for more in depth information.
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