Oahu

Oʻahu The Gathering Place
Satellite photo of Oʻahu
Geography
Location in the state of Hawaii.
Location	21°28′N 157°59′W / 21.467°N 157.983°W / 21.467; -157.983
Area	596.7 sq. mi.
Rank	3rd largest Hawaiian Island
Highest point	Mount Kaʻala
	4,003 ft (1,220.1 m)
Demographics
Population	905,034 (as of 2008[1])
Density	1,468/sq. mi. (567/km²)
Official Insignias
Flower	Ilima
Color	Melemele (yellow)

Oahu (pronounced /oʊˈɑːhuː/ in English) or Oʻahu (pronounced /oˈʔɐhu/ in Hawaiian), known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the State of Hawaiʻi. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast. Including small close-in offshore islands such as Ford Island and the islands in Kaneohe Bay and off the eastern coast, it has a total land area of 596.7 square miles (1,545.4 km²), making it the 20th largest island in the United States.^[2] It is also the most populous island in the Western Hemisphere that neither contains a national capital nor possesses a road or rail connection to a national capital. In greatest dimension, this volcanic island is 44 miles (71 km) long and 30 miles (48 km) across. The length of the shoreline is 227 miles (365 km). The island is the result of two separate shield volcanoes: Waiʻanae and Koʻolau, with a broad "valley" or saddle (the central Oʻahu Plain) between them. The highest point is Mt. Ka'ala in the Waiʻanae Range, rising to 4,003 feet (1,220 m) above sea level.^[3]

Introduction

Southeast Oahu showing Hawaiʻi Kai, Hanauma Bay and Koko Crater

Honolulu, its harbor and Punchbowl Crater

Waikīkī is one of the best known beaches in the world.

The island is home to about 900,000 people (approximately 75% of the resident population of the state) and partly because of this, Oʻahu has for a long time been nicknamed "The Gathering Place". However, the term Oʻahu has no confirmed meaning in Hawaiian, other than that of the place itself.^[4] Ancient Hawaiian tradition attributes the name's origin in the legend of Hawaiʻiloa, the Polynesian navigator credited with discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. The story relates that he named the island after a son.

The city of Honolulu—largest city, state capital, and main deepwater marine port for the State of Hawaiʻi—is located here. As a jurisdictional unit, the entire island of Oʻahu is in the City & County of Honolulu, although as a place name, Honolulu occupies only a portion of the southeast end of the island (essentially, the Honolulu District). Well-known features found on Oʻahu include Waikīkī, Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, Kāneʻohe Bay, Kailua Bay, North Shore.

History

Waimānalo Beach on windward side of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi

Pearl Harbor is the home of the largest U.S. Navy fleet in the Pacific. On December 7, 1941 the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked and destroyed the U.S. forces by surprise and killed almost 2,400 military and civilians, most of them trapped in the USS Arizona (BB-39).

The old Kingdom of Oʻahu was once ruled by the most ancient Aliʻi in all of the Hawaiian Islands. The first great king of Oʻahu was Mailikukahi, the law maker, who was followed by many generation of excellent monarchs.^{[citation needed]} Kualii was the first of the warlike kings and so were his sons. In 1773, the throne fell upon Kahahana, the son of Elani of Ewa. In 1783 Kahekili II, King of Maui, conquered Oʻahu and deposed the reigning family and then made his son Kalanikupule king of Oʻahu. Kamehameha the Great would conquer Kalanikupule's force in the Battle of Nuʻuanu. Kamehameha founded the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi with the conquest of Oʻahu in 1795. Hawaiʻi would not be unified until the islands of Kauaʻi and Niʻihau surrendered under King Kaumualii in 1810. Kamehameha III moved his capital from Lāhainā, Hawaii, Maui to Honolulu, Oʻahu in 1845. ʻIolani Palace, built later by other members of the royal family, is still standing, and is the only royal palace on American soil.

Oʻahu was apparently the first of the Hawaiian Islands sighted by the crew of HMS Resolution on 18 January 1778 during Captain James Cook's third Pacific expedition. Escorted by HMS Discovery, the expedition was surprised to find high islands this far north in the central Pacific. Oʻahu was not actually visited by Europeans until 28 February 1779 when Captain Charles Clerke aboard HMS Resolution stepped ashore at Waimea Bay. Clerke had taken command of the ship after Capt. Cook was killed at Kealakekua Bay (island of Hawaiʻi) on February 14, and was leaving the islands for the North Pacific.

Mākua Valley military testing area, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi

The opening battle of World War II in the Pacific for the United States was the Imperial Japanese Navy preemptive attack on Pearl Harbor, Oʻahu on the morning of December 7, 1941. The surprise attack was aimed at the Pacific Fleet of the United States Navy and its defending Army Air Corps and Marine Air Forces. The attack damaged or destroyed twelve American warships, destroyed 188 aircraft, and resulted in the deaths of 2,403 American servicemen and 68 civilians.

Today, Oʻahu has become a tourism and shopping haven as over five million visitors (mainly from the American mainland and Japan) flock there every year to enjoy the quintessential island holiday experience that the Hawaiian Islands and their multicultural people now personify.

An earthquake, measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale, struck Oʻahu and the surrounding islands at 07:07:49 HST on 15 October 2006, causing a statewide power outage and over $200 million in damages.

Mt. Kaʻala, Oʻahu's highest peak

Tourist attractions

Hanauma Bay

Valley of the Temples near the island's eastern shore

Top beaches

• Hanauma Bay
• Waikīkī Beach
• Kailua Beach
• Lanikai Beach
• Waimanalo Beach
• Ala Moana Beach
• Sunset Beach
• Waimea Bay
• Sandy Beach

Attractions

• Diamond Head
• Valley of the Temples
• North Shore
• Pali Lookout
• USS Arizona Memorial
• USS Missouri
• Pearl Harbor
• Waikīkī
• Polynesian Cultural Center
• Honolulu
• Ala Moana
• Bernice P. Bishop Museum
• Honolulu Academy of Arts
• Mauna Ala

Television and film

Oʻahu has been featured in many movies and television shows, including, but not limited to: Forgetting Sarah Marshall, 50 First Dates, Blue Crush, Flight 29 Down, Hawaii Five-O, Dante's Cove, Jake and the Fatman, the Jurassic Park movies, Windtalkers, Mighty Joe Young, The Karate Kid, Part II , Magnum P.I., North Shore, and Pearl Harbor. The Disney Channel movie Johnny Tsunami as well as its sequel, Johnny Kapahala, use Oahu as the hometown of the family. The Even Stevens Movie, also by Disney, was filmed in various locations on O'ahu. The reality TV show Dog the Bounty Hunter is filmed in the regions of Honolulu, Oʻahu (as well as other regions in Oʻahu), and the city of Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. The children's series Flight 29 Down was filmed on the island. The hit television series Lost is also filmed on Oahu, and many of the show's stars call the island home. The island's thick rainforests and picturesque beaches are prominently featured.

Multiplayer online racing game Test Drive Unlimited takes place on a fully modeled Oʻahu island with 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of roads and highways.

Notes

References

• Macdonald, Gordon A., Agatin T. Abbott, and Frank L. Peterson. 1983. Volcanoes in the Sea. University of Hawaiʻi Press, Honolulu. 517 pp.
• Pukui, M.K., S.H. Elbert, and E.T. Mookini. 1976. Place names of Hawaiʻi. University of Hawaiʻi Press. 289 pp.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Oahu

• Oahu travel guide from Wikitravel
• OahuwithKids
• A history of Oahu's Harbors

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Coordinates: 21°28′N 157°59′W / 21.467°N 157.983°W / 21.467; -157.983