Where is Hawaii?

The Hawaiian archipelago includes eight main islands, among them Hawaiʻi (the Big Island), Maui, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi, plus more than 100 smaller islets and atolls. It is one of the most isolated island groups on Earth, which is why so many of its plants and birds are found nowhere else. The islands formed as the Pacific plate moved over a volcanic hotspot, and the Big Island is still growing thanks to Kīlauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes. Mauna Kea rises 4,207 metres above sea level but more than 10,000 metres from its base on the ocean floor. Hawaii became a US state on 21 August 1959.