Hawaii (island)

The Island of Hawai‘i is the largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is believed to be named after Hawai‘iloa, a legendary navigator believed to have discovered the Hawaiian Islands. The island is built from five separate shield volcanoes that erupted somewhat sequentially, one overlapping the other. These are (from oldest to youngest): Kohala (extinct), Mauna Kea (dormant), Hualālai; (dormant), Mauna Loa (active), and Kīlauea; (very active; in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park;). Interpretation of geological evidence from exposures of old surfaces on the south and west flanks of Mauna Loa led to the proposal that two ancient volcanic shields (named Ninole and Kulani) were all but buried by that mountain (MacDonald and Abbott, 1970). Geologists now consider these "outcrops" to be part of the earlier building of Mauna Loa.

Also known as the Big Island (although this term is starting to fall into disfavor), its area is 4,038 mile² (10,458 km²). In greatest dimension, the island is 93 miles (150 km) across. The island represents more than half (~62%) of the total land area of the Hawaiian Islands and is administered under the County of Hawai‘i;.

Hawai‘i is the southernmost island in the Hawaiian archipelago. The nearest landfall to the south would be in the Line Islands. The submerged active volcano, Lo‘ihi;, represents the next emergence of a new volcano, most likely attached to the Island of Hawai‘i. To the north is the island of Maui, whose Haleakalā is visible across the Alenuihaha Channel (see photo at left).

The island of Hawai‘i has 2 towns that have been destroyed by Kīlauea's lava flows: Kalapana and Kaimu.

The tallest waterfall on the "big island" is Akaka Falls (see picture).

References

MacDonald, G. A., and A. T. Abbott. 1970. Volcanoes in the Sea. Univ. of Hawai‘i Press, Honolulu. 441 pages.