Hawaii (island)

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The Island of Hawai'i is the largest of the U.S. Hawaiian Islands, and the southern. The island is built from seven separate shield volcanoes that erupted more or less one at the time, one partly covering the other. The later volcanoes mostly buried two of the earlier ones. These are (from oldest to youngest): Kohala (extinct), Ninole (extinct, mostly buried), Mauna Kea (extinct or dormant?), Hualalai (dormant), Mauna Loa (active), Kulani (extinct, mostly buried), and Kilauea (very active).

The largest city on the island is Hilo. It is on the rainy east side of the island. The city of Kailua-Kona is on the dry west side of Hawaii, and is infested with tourists.

Called locally the "Big Island," its area is 4,038 sq. miles (10 458 square kilometers). The widest part of the island is 93 miles (150 km) across.

The Big Island makes up more than half (~62%) of the total land area of the State of Hawaii and is governed under the County of Hawaii.

Reference

MacDonald, G. A., and A. T. Abbott. 1970. Volcanoes in the Sea. Univ. of Hawaii Press, Honolulu. 441 p.

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