Location: Hawaii

Big Island

Hawaii

At less than a million years old, the Big Island of Hawaii is, geologically speaking, a youngster. And with the help of lava flowing from Kilauea volcano, it's still growing. So, unlike the other islands in the Hawaiian chain, the Big Island hasn't had time to develop many sandy beaches along its shores. Although they are few in number, the beaches of the Kona and Kohala coasts (especially the bright white strand at Hapuna Beach State Parks) are beautiful, and the black-sand beach at Punaluu is otherworldly.

What the Big Island does have in spades is big-game fishing (particularly at Kona, the self-proclaimed "Marlin Capital of the Pacific"), golf (on about 20 championship courses), vast ranchlands (including the 225,000-acre Parker Ranch, which dates to the early 19th century), incredible hiking (150 miles of trails in Volcanoes National Park alone), and great natural beauty (the 400-foot cascade of Akaka Falls, for example. At 4,038 square miles, it's a huge island, and since resort development is concentrated along the Kona-Kohala coast, there's a lot left to explore, from lava deserts to steaming rain forests.

Driving around the Big Island, you may come across petroglyphs and ancient Polynesian stone temples called heiau. Stop at Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park, also known as The City of Refuge, where a reconstructed temple stands on the lava-lined west coast. The refuge served as a sanctuary for Hawaiians who were cast out of their clans or had received death sentences for breaking sacred tabus. The park's exhibits will help you understand the island's history and its powerful chief, Kamehameha, who became the first to rule over all the Hawaiian islands.

Big Island Highlights
Volcanoes, Kona coffee and more on the Orchid Isle

Legend has it that two deities — the volcano goddess Pele and the demi-god Kamapua'a (the latter of whom could control the weather) — struck a deal to make the vast Big Island of Hawaii's west side so dry, and its east side so wet. The story's short version is that, after a battle, the pair divided the island in two, with Pele taking the western half and Kamapua'a, the eastern.

Climate & Geography
Even so, the island's weather isn't so cut-and-dried. Twelve distinct climate zones exist here, ranging from East Hawaii's tropical rain forests and Mauna Kea's frozen tundra to Ka'u's arid desert in the south.

Covering 4,028 square miles, the Big Island (or the "Orchid Isle") is the youngest and largest of the Hawaiian Islands — twice the size of all the other major Islands combined. And with two of the five volcanoes that created the island still active, it continues to grow: Kilauea Caldera is the longest continuously erupting volcano in the world, its present eruptive phase dating back to 1983; Mauna Loa, meanwhile, last erupted in March of 1984, sending lava to within a few miles of East Hawaii's Hilo town. Of the remaining three volcanoes on the island, Mauna Kea and Kohala are extinct, while Hualalai is considered to be dormant, having last erupted in 1801.

Hot Spots
Hawaii is the youngest island in the chain, and it continues to grow: Kilauea Caldera is the longest continuously erupting volcano in the world, its present eruptive phase dating back to 1983. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is just a short drive from Kailua-Kona or Hilo.

Points of Interest
Until recently, upcountry Waimea's Parker Ranch was the largest privately owned cattle ranch in the world, and ranching and agriculture continue to be the Big Island's economic mainstays — particularly beef, Kona coffee, macadamia nuts, fruits and tropical flowers. Resorts and most residential developments are located in coastal areas such as Hilo, Kailua-Kona, and the Kohala Coast, leaving much of island's interior untouched.

Each year the Big Island plays host to a number of world-renowned festivals and sports events, the most notable being the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival (in Hilo each April), the Ironman Triathlon World Championships (in Kona every October) and the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival in November.

What's More ...
• Though the average temperature on the Big Island ranges from 71 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit in the coastal regions (with temperatures in the low 70s October through April), the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa are often blanketed with snow.

• Average annual rainfall ranges from 10 inches at Kawaihae (near the west-facing Kohala Coast) to 128 inches at the Hilo Airport.

• Fifteen miles off the island's southeast coast yet another volcano, Lo'ihi, is erupting 3,000 feet below the surface of the ocean. While it will still be several thousand years before this volcano breaks the sea's surface, it has already risen more than 10,000 feet from the sea floor and has a crater that measures three miles across.

• Kamehameha the Great, who unified the Hawaiian Islands under one king for the first time in 1810, is believed to have been born in the Big Island's North Kohala area.

• Captain James Cook, who is widely considered to be the first European to set foot in the Hawaiian Islands, was killed at Kona's Kealakekua Bay in 1779.

• The Big Island's official flower is the lehua 'ohi'a

• The island's official color is red

BIOLOGY Big Island has a wide variety of plant, marine and animal life. Many species are rare and endangered including the giant Pacific Green Sea Turtle (which can grow to 400 pounds), the Nene Goose (the official state bird) and the Humpback Whale (the official state marine mammal). Vegetation zones include: coastal, dryland forest, mixed open forest, rain forest, subalpine and alpine.

CLIMATE Like most of the Hawaiian Islands, Big Island has only two seasons: "summer" between May and October and "winter" between October and April. Depending upon locale:

Average temperature ranges from 71.2 to 77.3 (°F) in the coastal regions.
Kailua-Kona average temperature:
- Jan.-Feb. 72.1 (°F)
- Aug.-Sept. 77.3 (°F)
Average annual rainfall ranges from 10 inches at Kawaihae (near the Kohala coast) to 128 inches at Hilo Airport.

CULTURAL HISTORY Big Island is a multi-cultural society with major immigration from:

Polynesia - 700 A.D.
United States - 1820
China - 1852
Japan - 1868
Portugal - 1878
Puerto Rico - 1900
Korea - 1903
Philippines - 1906

ECONOMY Healthy In 2006! Key indicators are positive for continuing growth in the second half of this decade. However, Hawaii's cost of living is among the highest in the nation and its 2004 per capita personal income below average. In fact, sources indicate a cost of living ranging from 30% above the national average to over 60% depending upon family size and circumstances.

2005 Visitor Arrivals to the State totaled 7.4 million (a record)
2005 Gross State Product was $54 billion

Major contributions to the State of Hawaii's economy include:

Visitor Expenditures: $11.8 billion (2005) - an all-time high*
Federal Defense Spending: $4.8 billion (2003)
Construction (Private Building Permits): $3.5 billion (2005) * Visitor Expenditure figures are deceptive, since a certain percentage of tourism dollars do not remain in the Islands, but are returned to overseas investors.

With the demise of its sugar and pineapple industries in the 1990's, Hawaii is working to diversify its economy with a focus on industries such as science and technology, health and wellness tourism, diversified agriculture, ocean research and development, and film and television production. A Study currently being conducted by the State is looking at the extent to which the benefits from tourism can be maintained, while sustaining the quality of our social, economic and environmental assets.

The Big Island's major sources of annual income include agriculture (the majority of the State's fruits, nuts and coffee are produced on Big Island) and tourism. Sugar cane is no longer produced on Big Island - abandoned in 1996.

EDUCATION Big Island :
K-12 students in public schools (2004): 24,201 (excluding Special & Charter Schools)
Number of Public schools (2004): 54
Number of Private schools (2005): 21

In 2004, there were 3,288 students enrolled at the University of Hawaii at Hilo and 2,440 at the Hawaii Community College - part of the University of Hawaii System.

GEOGRAPHY Big Island has an area of more than 4,028 square miles with 266 miles of coastline (93 miles long by 76 miles wide).

Big Island is:

located in Polynesia
near the center of the Pacific Ocean
just below the Tropic of Cancer
one of the most remote spots on Earth
2,315 miles west of San Francisco, California
the largest of the 8 main Hawaiian islands (twice the combined size of the other islands)

GEOLOGY    Big Island (the youngest island in the Hawaiian chain) was formed by five volcanoes. Two are still active: Mauna Loa and Kilauea, the world's most continuously active volcano. At 13,796 feet and 13,677 feet respectively, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa are the highest mountains in the Pacific. Ka Lae in the Kau District is the southernmost point in the United States.

GOVERNMENT    On Big Island, as throughout the State, there are no separate municipal governments. The County of Hawaii is responsible for local government on Big Island and has a mayor elected for up to two four-year terms and a nine member council with two-year terms. Big Island's county seat is located in Hilo.

HEALTH     Practices (2004): 327 doctors, 90 dentists, 1,159 nurses and 92 pharmacists.

OFFICIAL COLOR AND FLOWER    The official color is red and the official flower is the lehua.

POPULATION    Big Island:

had a resident population of 162,971 in 2004
is the second most populous island in the State

In 2003, Big Island's ethnic groups roughly broke down as follows:

    Unmixed (except Hawaiian): 82,103 (53.1%)
  Caucasian - 43,608 (28.2%)
  Japanese - 23,350 (15.1%)
  Filipino - 12,704 (8.2%)
  Chinese - 1,259 (0.8%)
  Black - No data (sample size too small)
  Korean - No data (sample size too small)
  Samoan/Tongan - 359 (0.2%)
Mixed (except Hawaiian) - 27,772 (18.0%)
Hawaiian/Part Hawaiian - 44,652 (28.9%)

TOURISM    Big Island had approximately 1.5 million visitors in 2005.

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