Hawaii

1. Hawaii

2. Hawaiian Islands began as bumps on the sea floor • Erupted to become a chain of volcanic islands within the past 5 million years

3. History • Native Hawaiians are descended from Polynesian Islanders who took sea voyages into the South Pacific more than 2,000 years ago • Native Hawaiians settled in favorable valleys near the coast where they raised taro. A root crop, used for making poi, a traditional staple food.

4. History • Europeans recorded discovery of Hawaii came in 1778. • Capt. James Cook happened upon the shores of the island while on a voyage seeking a route from the Pacific to the Atlantic. • Capt. Cook killed on return trip. • Venereal disease

5. Topography • Hawaii’s rocks are volcanic • Which means no metallic minerals, coal, oil or natural gas • Developed on the sloping sides of volcanic cones. • Counting beneath sea-level, largest mountains on earth.

7. Lies within the tropical northeasterly trade-wind zone • Wet conditions on the islands windward slopes • Leeward rain shadows on the southwest Large portions of the island of Hawaii and sections of central Oahu and Maui have grassy or shrubby vegetation.

9. Wildlife • Home to many thousands of species of plants, birds, insects, and small mammals • Some 8800 of which are found exclusively in Hawaii

10. Economy • By the late 1880’s the Hawaiian economy depended almost entirely on the sugar industry. • Plus a few other tropical crops like pineapples • Americans gain control of large blocks of land through intermarriage with Hawaiian royalty • Asian laborers for sugar plantations

12. Modern • Between 1950-1970 Hawaii transforms from agricultural to a diversified economy. • Construction, service industries, tourism • Honolulu today is a western city by design and construction. • Most important banking center, specializing in East-West transactions. • Leading center for all types of trade between Southeast Asia and United States