Big Island Map

Big Island Map

Friday, January 22, 2010

10 fun facts about the Big Island

1. The Big Island of Hawaii is the the youngest of the Hawaiian Islands, at just over one million years old. In fact, the daily lava flow keeps the island growing every day.

2. Hawaii is the name of the island as well as the state. To reduce confusion, the island Hawaii is referred to as the "Big Island."

3. The world's most active volcano, Kilauea, is on the Big Island.

4. Mauna Loa, which last erupted in 1984, is the most massive mountain on earth and consists of 10,000 cubic miles of rock, and is 13,677 feet high.

5. The Big Island is 4,038 square miles (and still growing). All the other Hawaiian Islands could fit inside the Big Island with room left over.

6. From the southern tip to the northern tip the distance is 95 miles. From east to west it is 80 miles.

7. In the 1850s, John Palmer Parker and his Hawaiian princess wife amassed land to form Parker Ranch, which today sprawls 225,000 acres and is two-thirds the size of the island of Oahu.

8. In 1946, a 56-foot tsunami hit the east side of the island.

9. In 1981, the Ironman Triathlon moved from Oahu to Kona.

10. The Big Island has the most diverse weather of any Hawaiian Island, including tropical, monsoonal, desert, and permafrost.

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