is the 50th state of the United States of America. It is the only state located in the Pacific Ocean and the only state composed entirely of islands.
The state encompasses nearly the entire Hawaiian archipelago, 137 islands spread over 1,500 miles (2,400 km). The volcanic archipelago is physio graphically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian sub-region of Oceania. At the southeastern end of the archipelago, the eight main islands are, in order from northwest to southeast: Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻ, Kahoʻolawe, Maui, and Hawaii. The last is the largest island in the group; it is often called the “Big Island” or “Hawaiiʻi Island” to avoid confusion with the state or archipelago.
Hawaii is the 8th-smallest geographically and the 11th-least populous, but the 13th-most densely populated of the 50 states. It is the only state with an Asian American plurality. Hawaii has over 1.4 million permanent residents, along with many visitors and U.S. military personnel. The state capital and largest city is Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu. The state’s ocean coastline is about 750 miles (1,210 km) long, the fourth longest in the U.S., after the coastlines of Alaska, Florida, and California. Hawaii is the most recent state to join the union, on August 21, 1959. It was an independent nation until 1898.
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