Description of Hawaii, US

In the Western United States, Hawaii is approximately 2,000 miles from the US mainland in a region known as the Pacific Ocean. A tropical island state, the only archipelago state and a U.S. state not located in North America. When the United States was founded, Hawaii was an autonomous nation.

The Hawaiian archipelago consists of 137 volcanic islands spanning 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) and is a part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in terms of both physiography and culture. The state's coastline is the fourth-longest in the US, stretching for more than 750 miles (1,210 km). There are eight major islands in the Hawaiian archipelago: Niihau (northwest), Kauai (east), Oahu (southeast), Molokai (northeast), Kahoolawe (northeast), Maui (southeast), and Hawaii (northeast). As the world's third-largest marine protected area, Papahnaumokukea Marine National Monument is largely made up of the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

Although Hawaii is the eighth smallest state in terms of size and the eleventh smallest in terms of population density, it has 1.4 million residents. Honolulu, the state's capital and largest city, is located on O'ahu, the island's largest island. In addition to its central Pacific location and two centuries of migration, Hawaii is a diverse state. Aside from having the lone Asian American plurality, the largest Buddhist community, and a high proportion of mixed race residents, it is also one of just six states where the minority population is majority. Because of this, Hawaii is a cultural crossroads unlike any other in the Americas or Asia.

Several independent chiefdoms arose in Hawaii after the arrival of the Polynesians around the year 1200 CE. First non-Polynesian explorer James Cook arrived in the archipelago in 1778; the state flag, which features a Union Jack, shows this early British influence. European and American traders and whalers brought diseases including syphilis, TB, measles, and leprosy to the Hawaiian Islands, decimating the indigenous population from between 300,000 and one million to less than 40,000 by 1890.

In 1810, Hawaii became a unified, internationally recognized kingdom and remained so until Western capitalists toppled the monarchy in 1893, ending in its annexation by the United States in 1898. December 7, 1941, was a pivotal date in Hawaii's history because of its strategic importance to the United States and its role in launching the United States into World War II. Hawaii became the 50th state to join the Union on August 21, 1959. A formal apology from the United States government was issued in 1993 for its role in the overthrow of Hawaii's government.

Plantation economies have historically dominated Hawaii, but the state's lush soil and unusual tropical climate have kept it as one of the country's top agricultural exporters. There has been a steady shift toward tourism and military defense as the two mainstays of its economic base starting in the middle of the 20th century. There are several reasons why visitors from around the world flock to Hawaii's natural beauty, including a pleasant tropical climate, public beaches, maritime environments and active volcanoes on the Big Island. A total of 75,000 people work for the Department of Defense in Hawaii, including the largest naval command in the world.

Despite having one of the highest cost of living in the country, Hawaii is the third wealthiest state in the country.

Cultural life of Hawaii

Hawaii's cultural landscape is a result of multiple cultural influences building on top of one another. Although the indigenous Hawaiian aesthetic has degraded and become diluted over time as a result of interbreeding and death, it is still visible throughout the islands. A mixture of Eastern and Western influences can be found in Hawaiian culture today. A number of traditional ethnic celebrations, including the Chinese New Year and the annual Japanese Bon festival in July or August, have become commonplace in Hawaii in recent decades.

Hula, canoe, tattooing and Hawaiian music and language were all revived in the 1970s as part of a cultural rebirth for Native Hawaiians. As a general rule, most native Hawaiians are familiar with at least a few terms of Hawaiian and participate in the gift of lei, a flower garland. Though commercialized, the "Aloha Spirit" is an expression of Hawaii's cultural diversity.

Economy of Hawaii

Sandalwood, whaling, sugarcane, pineapple, the military, tourism, and education are just a few of the significant companies in Hawaii's economic history. Sugar plantations in Hawaii gained a firm grip in the Hawaiian economy by the 1840s because to the high demand for sugar in the United States and the rapidity of steamships. The sugar industry's income were monopolized by American missionary families and merchants known as "the Big Five" who controlled sugarcane fields. Tropical fruits like pineapple, which were grown by sugarcane planters before annexation in 1898, became the principal export for the plantation economy. Since Hawaii became a state in 1959, tourism has accounted for 24.3% of the state's gross state product (GSP), despite efforts to diversify the economy. There were 47 billion dollars in total output in 2003, and a per capita income of $54,516 in 2014. Food and clothing are two of Hawaii's main exports. Since the West Coast of the United States is a long distance away from Hawaii, these industries have a small impact on the state's economic output. Among the state's agricultural exports are coffee, macadamia nuts, pineapple, cattle, sugarcane, and honey.

The state's most valued export by weight may be honey bees. There were $370,9 million in diversified agricultural sales in Hawaii in 2013, $100,6 million in pineapple sales, and $64,3 million in sugarcane sales. Compared to the mainland, Hawaii's climate is more stable, allowing seed companies to test three generations of crops per year rather than just one or two. Approximately 1,400 people were supported by the $264 million in seed sales in 2012.

The state's unemployment rate was 3.2 percent as of December 2015. Approximately 18% of all expenditures in Hawaii were incurred by the US military in 2009. The United States Department of Defense employs 75,000 people in Hawaii. According to a Phoenix Marketing International survey from 2013, Hawaii has the United States' fourth-highest percentage of millionaires per capita, at 7.2%.