Hawaiian Islands: Difference between revisions

[[File:ISS-38 Hawaiian Island chain.jpg|thumb|Hawaiian Islands from space.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=82975|title=Hawaii : Image of the Day|work=nasa.gov|date=January 29, 2014|access-date=4 June 2015|archive-date=January 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110044108/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=82975|url-status=live}}</ref>]]

[[File:2003-3d-hawaiian-islands-usgs-i2809.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.35|3-D perspective view of the southeastern Hawaiian Islands, with the white summits of [[Mauna Loa]] ({{convert|4170|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}} high) and [[Mauna Kea]] ({{convert|4207.3|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}} high). The islands are the tops of massive volcanoes, the bulk of which lie below the sea surface. Ocean depths are colored from violet ({{convert|5750|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}} deep northeast of [[Maui]]) and indigo to light gray (shallowest). Historical lava flows are shown in red, erupting from the summits and rift zones of Mauna Loa, [[Kilauea]], and [[Hualalai]] volcanoes on [[Hawaii|Hawaiʻi]].]]

The state of Hawaii counts 137 "islands" in the Hawaiian chain.<ref>{{Cite web| url= http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/economic/library/facts/Facts_and_Figures_State_and_Counties.pdf | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081022150920/http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/economic/library/facts/Facts_and_Figures_State_and_Counties.pdf | url-status= dead | archive-date= 2008-10-22 | title= Hawai'i Facts & Figures |work= state web site |publisher= State of Hawaii Dept. of Business, Economic Development & Tourism |date=December 2009 | access-date=2010-05-23 }}</ref> This number includes all minor islands (small islands), [[islet]]s (even smaller islands) offshore of the major islands (listed above) and individual islets in each atoll. These are just a few:

* [[Kaʻula]]

Only the two Hawaiian islands furthest to the southeast have active volcanoes: [[Haleakalā]] on Maui, and [[Mauna Loa]], [[Mauna Kea]], [[Kīlauea|Kilauea]], and [[Hualālai|Hualalai]], all on the Big Island. The volcanoes on the remaining islands are extinct as they are no longer over the Hawaii hotspot. The [[Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount]] is an active submarine volcano that is expected to become the newest Hawaiian island when it rises above the ocean's surface in 10,000–100,000 years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/active-volcanoes-hawaii|title=Active Volcanoes of Hawaii &#124; U.S. Geological Survey|website=www.usgs.gov|access-date=June 9, 2023|archive-date=June 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608153922/https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/active-volcanoes-hawaii|url-status=live}}</ref>

Hazards from these volcanoes include lava flows that can destroy and bury the surrounding surface, volcanic gas emissions, earthquakes and tsunamis listed above, submarine eruptions affecting the ocean, and the possibility of an explosive eruption.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/hazards|title=Hazards &#124; U.S. Geological Survey|website=www.usgs.gov|access-date=June 9, 2023|archive-date=June 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609072759/https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/hazards|url-status=live}}</ref>

==History==

{{Main article|History of Hawaii}}

==Climate==

{{Main|Climate of Hawaii}}

The Hawaiian Islands are [[Tropical climate|tropical]] but experience many different climates, depending on altitude and surroundings.<ref name=hydrology>{{cite book|pages=39, 43, 49, 53|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BJjf0Oh2EBIC&pg=PA49|title=Hydrology of the Hawaiian Islands|isbn=9780824829483|last1=Lau|first1=Leung-Ku Stephen|last2=Mink|first2=John Francis|date=2006-10-01| publisher=University of Hawaii Press |access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-date=January 18, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118063804/https://books.google.com/books?id=BJjf0Oh2EBIC&pg=PA49|url-status=live}}</ref> The islands receive most rainfall from the [[trade wind]]s on their north and east flanks (the windward side) as a result of [[orographic precipitation]].<ref name=hydrology/> Coastal areas in general and especially the south and west flanks, or [[Windward and leeward|leeward]] sides, tend to be drier.<ref name=hydrology/>