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Anthropologists believe that Polynesians from the Marquesas and Society Islands first populated the Hawaiian Islands in approximately 300 AD, followed by Tahitian settlers in approximately 1300 AD who conquered and eliminated the original inhabitants of the islands. These Tahitian conquerors preserved memories of their migrations orally through genealogies and folk tales, like the stories of Hawai?iloa and Pa?ao. Relations with other Polynesian groups were sporadic during the early migratory periods, and Hawai?i grew from small settlements to a complex society in near isolation. Voyaging between Hawai'i and the South Pacific apparently ceased with no explanation several centuries before the arrival of the Europeans. Local chiefs, called ali?i, ruled their settlements and fought to extend their sway and defend their communities from predatory rivals. Warfare was endemic. The general trend was toward chiefdoms of increasing size, even encompassing whole islands. Vague reports by various European explorers suggest that Hawai?i was visited by foreigners well before the 1778 arrival of British explorer Captain James Cook. Historians credited Cook with the discovery after he was the first to plot and publish the geographical coordinates of the Hawaiian Islands. Cook named his discovery the Sandwich Islands in honor of one of his sponsors, John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. Hawaii is the only U.S. state that is completely surrounded by water. It is one of two states that does not share a border with another U.S. state (Alaska being the other). It is the southernmost part of the United States. In addition to possessing the southernmost point in the United States, it is the only state that lies completely in the tropics. As one of two states outside the contiguous United States (the other being Alaska), it is the only state without territory on the mainland of any continent. It is also the only state that continues to grow because of active lava flows, most notably from Kilauea. Because it has more endangered species per square mile than anywhere else, Hawai?i is considered the endangered species capital of the world. The Hawaiian Archipelago comprises nineteen islands and atolls extending across a distance of 1,500 miles (2,400 km). The main islands are the eight high islands at the southeastern end of the island chain. These islands are, in order from the northwest to southeast, Ni?ihau, Kaua?i, O?ahu, Moloka?i, Lana?i, Kaho?olawe, Maui and the Island of Hawai?i. All of the Hawaiian Islands were formed by volcanoes arising from the sea floor through a vent described in geological theory as a hotspot. The theory maintains that as the tectonic plate beneath much of the Pacific Ocean moves in a northwesterly direction, the hot spot remains stationary, slowly creating new volcanoes. This explains why only volcanoes on the southern half of the Island of Hawai?i are presently active. The last volcanic eruption outside the Island of Hawai?i happened at Haleakala on Maui in the late 18th century. The newest volcano to form is Lo?ihi, deep below the waters off the southern coast of the Island of Hawai?i. The isolation of the Hawaiian Islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and the wide range of environments to be found on high islands located in and near the tropics, has resulted in a vast array of endemic flora and fauna. The volcanic activity and subsequent erosion created impressive geological features. Those conditions make Mount Wai?ale?ale the third wettest place on earth; it averages 460 inches (11.7 m) of rain annually.
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| Venues in Hawaii |
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