Hawaiʻi, sometimes written Hawaii, is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost 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 has 63% of the Hawaiian archipelago's combined landmass. However, it has only 13% of the archipelago's population. The island of Hawaiʻi is the third largest island in Polynesia, behind the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The official name of the island is Island of Hawaiʻi (often shortened to Hawaiʻi Island) to distinguish it from the state. It is also referred to as the Big Island, due to its size relative to the other Hawaiian Islands. In Hawaiian, the island is sometimes called Moku o Keawe. The word keawe has several meanings. One definition, "southern cross", is said to be the name of an ancient chief. Another definition is "the bearer". Hawaiʻi County is the local administrative unit. As of the 2020 census, the population was 200,629. The county seat and largest community is Hilo. Hawaiʻi County has no incorporated cities.
History
Hawaiʻi is allegedly named after Hawaiʻiloa, a legendary Polynesian navigator who is said to have discovered the island. Other accounts attribute the name to the legendary realm of Hawaiki, a place from which some Polynesians are said to have originated, the place where they transition to in the afterlife, or the realm of the gods and goddesses. The indigenous Hawaiian name of the island was originally rendered and published as "Owyhee" or "Owhyhee". It is uncertain when Hawaiʻi was first discovered by humans. Early archaeological studies suggested that Polynesian explorers from the Marquesas Islands or Society Islands may have arrived in the Hawaiian islands as early as the 3rd century AD, possibly with a second wave arriving from Tahiti around 1100. However, more recent analyses suggest that the first settlers arrived around 900–1200 AD.
Oral tradition holds one of the most famous aliʻinui of Hawaiʻi to be ʻUmi-a-Līloa, who united the island by force. He was the illegitimate son of Līloa, aliʻinui of Hawaiʻi who ruled from Waipiʻo Valley in the Hāmākua district. When Līloa died, the island passed to ʻUmi's half-brother Hakau. However, ʻUmi attacked and killed Hakau along with the aliʻi (nobles) who served him, winning control of Hāmākua. He then proceeded to conquer the rebelling districts of Hilo, Puna, Kaʻū, and Kona. He placed the seat of his new government in Kailua in the Kona district.
In 1779, Captain James Cook made his second voyage to the Hawaiian islands, anchoring in Kealakekua Bay on the island of Hawaiʻi. He spent several weeks there, meeting and trading with locals and readying his ships for a planned trip to the Arctic. The Hawaiians received him hospitably, considering him to be an incarnation of the god Lono. Early in 1780, Cook departed. However, his ships were damaged in a storm immediately after setting sail, and he was forced to return to Kealakekua after only a week at sea. During this second anchoring, an altercation between the Europeans and the Hawaiians turned violent, resulting in the death of multiple people on both sides, including Cook himself. Peaceful relations were eventually restored with the crew of his ships, who departed for good later that month. In 1780, the island of Hawaiʻi was controlled by the aliʻinui Kalaniʻōpuʻu, a descendant of ʻUmi-a-Līloa. On his death in 1782, he designated his son Kīwalaʻō as his heir. However, a feud between Kīwalaʻō and Kalaniʻōpuʻu's nephew Paiʻea Kamehameha soon escalated into a civil war. Kīwalaʻō was killed in the Battle of Mokuʻōhai later that same year, leaving control of the island divided between Kamehameha in the west, Kīwalaʻō's uncle and advisor Keawemaʻuhili in the northeast, and Kīwalaʻō's half-brother Keōua Kūʻahuʻula in the south. The three chiefs, aided by Western ships and weapons, fought to a standstill for eight years until 1790, when Keōua defeated and killed Keawemaʻuhili. In 1791 Kamehameha's men killed Keōua at a diplomatic meeting, leaving control of Hawaiʻi to Kamehameha. Kamehameha went on to conquer the rest of the Hawaiian islands, consolidating his control in 1810 with the peaceful surrender of Kaumualiʻi, king of Kauai. He gave his new kingdom, and by extension the island chain itself, the name of his native island – the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. In 1822, missionary William Ellis arrived and was one of a party that completed a tour of the island, descriptions of which were later published in his journal. In July, 1898, Hawaiʻi and all the Hawaiian islands were annexed by the United States, becoming the Territory of Hawaii. In 1905, the passage of the County Act established the County of Hawaiʻi, providing the island with local government for the first time since 1810.
Geology and geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 5,086 square miles (13,170 km2), of which 4,028 sq mi (10,430 km2) is land and 1,058 sq mi (2,740 km2) (20.8%) is water. 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 39.6 percent. At its greatest dimension, the island is 93 miles (150 km) across. Measured from its sea floor base to its highest peak, Mauna Kea at 10,000 metres (33,000 ft) is the world's tallest mountain, taller than even Mount Everest, since the base of Mount Everest is above sea level. The most southern point of Hawaiʻi, Ka Lae, is the southernmost point of the United States. The nearest landfall to the south is the Line Islands. To the northwest of the island of Hawaiʻi is the island of Maui, whose Haleakalā volcano is visible from Hawaiʻi Island across the ʻAlenuihāhā Channel.
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):
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