HISTORY15 - Hawaiian Islands
Last January I posted a blog about the history of the Big Island of Hawaii and Pat’s and my plans to visit on our own for a week in April. Unfortunately, on our flight over from Tucson, I suddenly was stricken with severe sciatica in my back and we had to cancel the whole trip. So, this year in July, we’re trying again, only this time on a tour of four islands, Hawaii, Oahu, Maui, and Kauai - for 12 days. I decided to post a new blog on the overall history of all the major islands of Hawaii. Introduction The Hawaiian Islands are a group of 136 separate islands, including eight major islands (seven inhabited), several atolls (coral islands circling a lagoon), numerous smaller islets, and coral reefs in the North Pacific Ocean. As the figure below shows, the Island chain extends 1,500 miles in a southeasterly direction from the Kure Atoll to Hawaii. The U.S. state of Hawaii includes the entire chain of islands, with the sole exception of Midway Island, which is an un