Oahu

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Use American English Template:Infobox island

Fly-around tour of the island

OTemplate:Okinaahu (Template:IPA, Template:IPAc-en, sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> The state capital, Honolulu, is on OTemplate:Okinaahu's southeast coast. The island of OTemplate:Okinaahu and the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> constitute the City and County of Honolulu. In 2021, OTemplate:Okinaahu had a population of 995,638,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> up from 953,207 in 2010 (approximately 70% of the total 1,455,271 population of the Hawaiian Islands,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with approximately 81% of those living in or near the Honolulu urban area).

OTemplate:Okinaahu is Template:Convert long and Template:Convert across. Its shoreline is Template:Convert long. Including small associated islands such as Ford Island plus those in [[KāneTemplate:Okinaohe Bay]] and off the eastern (windward) coast, its area is Template:Convert, making it the 20th-largest island in the United States.<ref name="SizeRef">Template:Cite web</ref>

Well-known features of OTemplate:Okinaahu include Waikīkī, Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, [[KāneTemplate:Okinaohe Bay]], Kailua Bay, and the North Shore.

Name

The Island of OTemplate:Okinaahu is often nicknamed (or translated as) "The Gathering Place". The translation of "gathering place" was suggested as recently as 1922 by Hawaiian Almanac author Thomas Thrum. Thrum possibly ignored or misplaced the [[Template:OkinaOkina|Template:Okinaokina]] because the Hawaiian phrase "Template:Okinao ahu" could be translated as "gathering of objects" (Template:Okinao is a subject marker and ahu means "to gather"). The term Template:Lang has no other confirmed meaning in Hawaiian.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

History

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File:Aerial view of Pearl Harbor on 1 June 1986 (6422248).jpg

Pearl Harbor is the home of the largest U.S. Navy fleet in the Pacific. The harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941, by the Japanese Empire, bringing the United States into World War II.

File:Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.JPG

USS Arizona Memorial (right); Template:USS (left) in Pearl Harbor

It is uncertain when OTemplate:Okinaahu was first settled by humans. Early archaeological studies suggested that Polynesian explorers from the Marquesas may have arrived as early as the 3rd century A.D.,<ref>Van, James (2010). Ancient Sites of Oahu: A Guide to Archaeological Places of Interest. Bishop Museum Pr. Page 5. Template:ISBN.</ref> possibly with a second wave arriving from Tahiti around 1100 A.D.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> However, more modern analyses indicate that the first settlers probably arrived around 900–1200 A.D.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The first great king of OTemplate:Okinaahu was [[MaTemplate:Okinailikūkahi]], the lawmaker, who initiated a 304-year dynasty of monarchs. KualiTemplate:Okinai was the first of the warlike kings and was succeeded by his sons. In 1773, the throne fell upon Kahahana, the son of Elani of Ewa.Template:Cn

On January 19, 1778, OTemplate:Okinaahu was the first of the Hawaiian Islands to be sighted by Captain James Cook during his third voyage of discovery.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This was the first recorded encounter of the Hawaiian Islands by non-Polynesian people. Cook bypassed OTemplate:Okinaahu, landing instead at Kauai before continuing his original mission to explore the coast of North America. The next year, on February 27, 1779, Cook's second in command, Captain Charles Clerke, became the first recorded non-Polynesian to visit OTemplate:Okinaahu when he landed at Waimea Bay. Earlier that month, Cook had been killed at Kealakekua Bay on the island of Hawaii when a dispute with the local people turned violent.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Clerke's visit to OTemplate:Okinaahu was brief and the expedition's two ships left Waimea Bay the same day after finding it difficult to obtain fresh water.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

At the time of Cook's visit, the Hawaiian Islands were divided among several warring chiefdoms. In 1783, Kahekili II, king of the island of Maui, conquered OTemplate:Okinaahu. He then made his son, Kalanikūpule, king of OTemplate:Okinaahu turning it into a puppet state. Kalanikūpule was later defeated in the [[Battle of Nuuanu|Battle of NuTemplate:Okinauanu]] in 1795 by Kamehameha I who then founded the Kingdom of Hawaii. The Hawaiian islands were not fully unified until [[Kaumualii|King KaumualiTemplate:Okinai]] surrendered the islands of Kauai and Niihau in 1810.<ref name="Kuykendall">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp

By the late 18th century, Waikīkī was a major settlement on OTemplate:Okinaahu, serving as Kahekili II's residence after 1783.<ref name="Kuykendall" />Template:Rp However, as trade with foreigners intensified, the nearby town of Honolulu came to eclipse it in size and importance due to its more accessible harbor.<ref name="Kuykendall" />Template:RpIn 1845, Kamehameha III moved his capital to Honolulu from Lahaina on the island of Maui.<ref name="Kuykendall" />Template:Rp Later, King Kalākaua had a modern residence built in Honolulu for the royal family – the [[Iolani Palace|Template:OkinaIolani Palace]] which still stands as the only royal palace on American soil.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In January, 1893, a group of leading American businessmen took up arms near Template:OkinaIolani Palace and, along with US Marines from the USS Boston that landed in Honolulu harbor, launched [[Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom|a successful coup d'état against Queen LiliTemplate:Okinauokalani]]. The insurgents abolished the monarchy and established the Republic of Hawaii, which later successfully lobbied the US government for annexation to the US.<ref name="Burr2011">Template:Cite book</ref>

On the morning of December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, OTemplate:Okinaahu]], bringing the United States into World War II. The attack was aimed at destroying the American will to fight and forcing the US to sue for peace. They attacked the Pacific Fleet of the United States Navy and its defending Army Air Forces and Marine Air Forces. The attack damaged or destroyed 12 American warships, destroyed 188 aircraft, and killed 2,335 American servicemen and 68 civilians (of those, 1,177 were the result of the destruction of the Template:USS alone).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

After World War II, OTemplate:Okinaahu became a tourism and shopping destination with more than five million visitors per year, mainly from the contiguous United States and Japan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography and climate

File:Oahu2021OSM.png

Enlargeable, detailed map of OTemplate:Okinaahu

Like all other Hawaiian Islands, OTemplate:Okinaahu was formed from the volcanism associated with the Hawaii hotspot; it started to grow from the sea floor 4 million years ago.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Today, the island is composed of the remnants of two extinct and extensively eroded shield volcanoes: the [[Waianae Range|WaiTemplate:Okinaanae]] and [[KoTemplate:Okinaolau Range|KoTemplate:Okinaolau Ranges]], with a broad valley or saddle between them.<ref name="Juvik-1998">Template:Cite book</ref> The highest point is [[KaTemplate:Okinaala]] in the WaiTemplate:Okinaanae Range, rising to 4,003 feet (1,220 m) above sea level.<ref name="ElevationRef">Template:Cite web</ref>

OTemplate:Okinaahu is known for having the longest rain shower in recorded history. KāneTemplate:Okinaohe Ranch reported 247 straight days of rain from August 27, 1993, to April 30, 1994. The average temperature in OTemplate:Okinaahu is around Template:Convert. The island is the warmest from June through October. The winter is cooler, but still warm, with an average temperature of Template:Convert.

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Tourism

OTemplate:Okinaahu, along with the rest of the State of Hawaii, relies on tourism as a driving force of the local economy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Popular tourists attractions include beaches such as Ala Moana Beach, Hanauma Bay, [[Kāneohe Bay|KāneTemplate:Okinaohe Bay]], Ko Olina Beach Park, Waikīkī Beach, among others. Other tourist attractions include Ala Moana Center, Bishop Museum, the Honolulu Museum of Art, [[Template:OkinaIolani Palace]], and Kualoa Ranch.