What Do You Know About: Hawaii

Mmmm....tropical....Sounds fabulous this time of year when you live in Hoth....

The islands we now call Hawaii were explored by David Cook, who named them the Sandwich islands. Hawaii used to be a kingdom; that is, ruled by a queen or king. The last was Queen Liliuokalani, who ruled until 1893. It became a United States territory in 1900, and a state on August 21, 1959.

Hawaii is 2400 miles from San Francisco, California. It's 3864 miles from Minneapolis to Hawaii.

There are three universities in Hawaii:

• University of Hawaii at Manoa
• University of Hawaii at Hilo
• Hawaii Pacific University

                                                     University of Hawaii at Manoa

                                     Beachfront hotels and apartments

 

                                        You can stay in the water all the time!

• The major crops produced in Hawaii include pineapple, sugar cane, and flowers.

                                               Pineapple farm

• Hawaii has only 5 counties. (Minnesota has 87)
• The population of Hawaii in 2010 was 1,360,300.
• While there are other 'ordinary' jobs in Hawaii, their tourism industry means there is always a need for helicopter pilots, hotel workers and management, entertainers, and transportation managers.

                                       Helicopter tour at night

• Because of the tropical climate, there is also a need for marine biologists and people who can care for flowers and plants unique to Hawaii.
• Housing is very expensive in Hawaii, including apartment rental.
• There are limited shopping opportunities for those living in Hawaii; many goods have to be sent from the 'mainland,' that is, California and the continental U.S.
• Cultural groups living in Hawaii include American Indian, Asian, and Native Hawaiian.
• There are several continuously active volcanoes in the Hawaiian islands. Three major ones are Kilauea, Maunaloa, and Loihi.
• Hawaii has 109,000 acres of National Forest Reserves.

 

On December 7, 1941, Japanese warplanes attacked the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. It was the first time foreign forces had attacked us on our soil (it was a U.S. territory at the time, so considered 'ours'). 2403 U.S. service people were killed.http://www.pearlharborhistoricsites.org/

                                    The ship USS Arizona is sunken underneath its memorial.

 

Very interesting video telling the Pearl Harbor story:  http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=hawaii+pearl+harbor&view=detail&mid=F6596D005369DD928673F6596D005369DD928673&FORM=VIRE3

                                 Lava from volcanoes forms some of the shoreline

 

Meanwhile, in Minnesota: Tropical temperatures may hit 40 this week. Get out your flip-flops!