Editing Niihau (section)

==Geography==
{{See also|List of beaches in Ni{{okina}}ihau}}
Ni{{okina}}ihau is located about {{convert|18|mi|km}} west of [[Kauai|Kaua{{okina}}i]], and the tiny, uninhabited island of [[Lehua]] lies {{convert|0.7|mi|nmi km}} north of Ni{{okina}}ihau. Ni{{okina}}ihau's dimensions are 6.2 miles by 18.6 miles (10km × 30km). The maximum elevation (Paniau) is {{convert|1280|ft|m|0}}.<ref name="ElevationRef">{{cite web |url=http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/economic/databook/db2004/section05.pdf |title=Table 5.11 – Elevations of Major Summits |work=2004 State of Hawaii Data Book |publisher=State of Hawaii |year=2004 |access-date=July 23, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070809031048/http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/economic/databook/db2004/section05.pdf |archive-date= Aug 9, 2007}}</ref> The island is about 6 million years old, making it geologically older than the 5.8-million-year-old neighboring island of Kaua{{okina}}i to the northeast.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Volcano Watch — A geologic tour of the Hawaiian Islands: Kaua'i and Ni'ihau |url=https://www.usgs.gov/news/volcano-watch-geologic-tour-hawaiian-islands-kauai-and-niihau |access-date=2023-06-26 |website=U.S. Geological Survey |date=January 7, 2016 |last1=Hawaiian Volcano Observatory }}</ref> Ni{{okina}}ihau is the remnant of the southwestern slope of what was once a much larger volcano. The entire summit and other slopes collapsed into the ocean in a giant prehistoric [[volcanic landslide|landslide]].<ref name="soest.hawaii.edu 2004">{{cite web |title=GG 103 Class 26: Regional Geology of Kau'i, Ni'ihau and NW Hawaiian chain |website=School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology |date=April 10, 2004 |url=https://www.soest.hawaii.edu/moore/gg103/class_26.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329015157/https://www.soest.hawaii.edu/moore/gg103/class_26.htm |archive-date=March 29, 2021 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Climate===
The island is relatively [[arid]] because it lies in the [[rain shadow]] of Kaua{{okina}}i and lacks the elevation needed to catch significant amounts of [[trade wind]] rainfall. Ni{{okina}}ihau, therefore, depends on winter [[Kona storm]]s for its rain, when more southerly weather systems intrude into the region. As such, the island is subject to long periods of [[drought]].{{sfn|Tabrah|1987|pp=10–11}} Historical droughts on Ni{{okina}}ihau have been recorded several times, one in 1792 by Captain [[James Cook]]'s former junior officer, [[George Vancouver]], who had been told that the people of Ni{{okina}}ihau had abandoned the island because of a severe drought and had moved to Kaua{{okina}}i to escape famine.{{sfn|Tabrah|1987|p=49}}

{{Weather box
|location = Pu{{okina}}uwai
|single line = Y
|Jan high F = 79
|Feb high F = 79
|Mar high F = 81
|Apr high F = 82
|May high F = 83
|Jun high F = 85
|Jul high F = 86
|Aug high F = 87
|Sep high F = 87
|Oct high F = 86
|Nov high F = 83
|Dec high F = 81
|year high F = 83
|Jan low F = 65
|Feb low F = 65
|Mar low F = 65
|Apr low F = 66
|May low F = 67
|Jun low F = 69
|Jul low F = 70
|Aug low F = 71
|Sep low F = 71
|Oct low F = 70
|Nov low F = 68
|Dec low F = 66
|year low F = 68
|rain colour = green
|Jan rain inch = 2.96
|Feb rain inch = 1.48
|Mar rain inch = 1.53
|Apr rain inch = 0.75
|May rain inch = 0.63
|Jun rain inch = 0.33
|Jul rain inch = 0.50
|Aug rain inch = 0.62
|Sep rain inch = 0.84
|Oct rain inch = 2.35
|Nov rain inch = 2.74
|Dec rain inch = 2.78
|year rain inch = 17.51
|source 1    =The Weather Channel <ref name="The Weather Channel">{{cite web
  | url = https://weather.com/weather/monthly/l/USHI0255:1:US
  | title = Puuwai, HI Monthly Weather Forecast
  | publisher = [[The Weather Channel]]
  | access-date = May 7, 2018 }}</ref>
|date=May 2018
}}

===Flora and fauna===
[[File:Niihau cliffs aerial.jpg|thumb|left|View of the rugged cliffs of windward Ni{{okina}}ihau (the northeastern shore)]]
As an arid island, Ni{{okina}}ihau was barren of trees for centuries – Captain [[James Cook]] reported it treeless in 1778. [[Aubrey Robinson (Hawaii planter)|Aubrey Robinson]], grandfather of current owners Bruce Robinson and Keith Robinson, planted 10,000 trees per year during much of his ownership of the island; Robinson's [[afforestation]] efforts increased rainfall in the dry climate.<ref name="khon2009" /> Island co-owner Keith Robinson, a noted [[conservation movement|conservationist]], preserved and documented many of Ni{{okina}}ihau's natural plant resources. The island is designated as a critical habitat for the ''[[Brighamia insignis|{{okina}}ōlulu]]'', an endemic and endangered species of [[Hawaiian lobelioid]]. ''[[Pritchardia aylmer-robinsonii]]'', a [[Arecaceae|palm]] tree named for Keith Robinson's uncle [[Aylmer Robinson]], is an endangered species native to Ni{{okina}}ihau.

Several bird species thrive on Ni{{okina}}ihau. The largest lakes on the island are [[Hālali{{okina}}i Lake]], [[Halulu Lake]] and [[Nonopapa Lake]].<ref>{{Hawaiian Dictionaries|Nonopapa Lake|HASH93333704227c2989be6a6a|dic=hpn|access-date=September 24, 2010}}</ref> These intermittent [[Sink (geography)|playa]] lakes on the island provide [[wetland]] habitats for the ''[[Hawaiian coot|{{okina}}alae ke{{okina}}oke{{okina}}o]]'' (Hawaiian coot), the ''[[Hawaiian stilt|āe{{okina}}o]]'' (Hawaiian subspecies of Black-necked Stilt), and the ''[[Hawaiian duck|koloa maoli]]'' (Hawaiian duck). The critically endangered [[Hawaiian monk seal]] (''Monachus schauinslandi'') is found in high numbers on Ni{{okina}}ihau's shores. Robinson states that Ni{{okina}}ihau's secluded shoreline offers them a safe haven from habitat encroachments. According to Robinson, conditions there are better than the government refuges of the [[Northwestern Hawaiian Islands]]. When the Robinsons originally purchased Ni{{okina}}ihau, no monk seals were present, because they lived in the northwestern part of the Hawaiian island chain, [[Necker Island (Hawaii)|Necker]] and [[Midway Island|Midway]] islands. They have been relocated to the main Hawaiian island chain by [[NOAA]] fisheries over the past thirty years, and some have found homes on Ni{{okina}}ihau.<ref name="khon2009" /><ref name="TavaKeale1990">{{cite book|last1=Tava|first1=Rerioterai|last2=Keale|first2=Moses K.|title=Niihau: The Traditions of a Hawaiian Island|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0GPxAAAAMAAJ|year=1990|publisher=Mutual Publishing Company|location=Honolulu|oclc=21275453|page=95|isbn=9780935180800}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Mooallem |first=Jon |author-link=Jon Mooallem |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/12/magazine/who-would-kill-a-monk-seal.html |title=Who Would Kill a Monk Seal? |magazine=[[The New York Times Magazine]] |date=May 8, 2013}}</ref>

[[Big game hunting|Big game]] herds, imported from stock on [[Molokai|Moloka{{okina}}i]] Ranch in recent years, roam Ni{{okina}}ihau's forests and flatlands. [[Taurotragus|Eland]] and [[aoudad]] are abundant, along with [[oryx]]es, wild [[boar]]s and feral [[sheep]]. These big game herds provide income from [[Big-game hunter|hunting]] [[safari]] tourism.<ref name="khon2009" />