Last month, we covered the 49th state in the union. This month, we’re heading to number 50: Hawai’i! This archipelago, an independent unified kingdom from 1810 to 1893, was annexed by the United States in 1898 after a coup d'etat by European-American businessmen in 1893. This led to the development of a plantation economy on the island which led to explosive growth in the settler population, mass deforestation and the islands’ eventual statehood. Hawai’i refers to the archipelago, the state and the largest island in the chain. This map of the month, Hawai’i: The Big Island, gives the spotlight to the island.
Environments on the islands of Hawaii can vary dramatically depending upon location and Hawai’i is no exception. From hardened lava flows, to thick forest, grassland, desert and even snow capped volcanoes, Hawai’i nearly has it all. Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, the two largest volcanoes on the island, cast rain shadows which cause the majority of the rain to fall on the eastern portion of the island, rendering the east thick tropical rainforest; whilst the western slopes are a dry desert. These are shown on the map to a certain degree, for example, the ‘Ōla’a Rainforest is marked on the map as a subsection of the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park and the Ka‘ū desert is also marked on the map.
The island is filled with a long history and many events and people are mentioned in the map. For example, The birthplace of Kamehameha I, the unifier and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawai’i, is marked on the north of the Island near Hīkapoloa.
In addition, the map marks the location of Wahaʻula Heiau, a temple, once used for ritual and sacrifice in the native Hawaiian religion, now buried under old lava flows and petroglyphs along the southern shore.
Also shown on the map are the Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa observatories. The observatory near the summit of Mauna Loa records climate and weather data, including atmospheric CO2 concentrations. The observatories atop Mauna Kea are for astronomical observations and such observations are counted amongst the most important discoveries in astronomy. For example, researchers at the Mauna Kea complex were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for discovery of dark energy causing the universe to expand rapidly. However, the observatories are situated atop a site of immense cultural, historical, ecological and spiritual importance to the indigenous people of Hawai’i.
We hope you enjoyed our December 2024 Map of the Month.
- Title: Hawai’i The Big Island
- Date: 1998
- Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
As with all of our Map of the Month features, if you’d like to get a scanned copy of this map, please submit a Map and Geo Service Request and we’ll be sure to get back to you within two business days, but typically sooner.
-Grace Behan, Map and GIS Assistant