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Kauai
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Kauai or Kauai ( in English and or in Hawaiian) is the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle", Kauai lies 105 miles (170 kilometers) across the Kauai Channel, northwest of Oahu.
The United States Census Bureau defines Kauai as Census Tracts 401 through 409 of Kauai County, Hawaii, which is all of the county except for the islands of Ka?ula, Lehua, and Niihau.
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Encyclopedia
Kauai or Kauai ( in English and or in Hawaiian) is the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle", Kauai lies 105 miles (170 kilometers) across the Kauai Channel, northwest of Oahu.
The United States Census Bureau defines Kauai as Census Tracts 401 through 409 of Kauai County, Hawaii, which is all of the county except for the islands of Ka?ula, Lehua, and Niihau. The 2000 census population of Kauai (the island) was 58,303.
Etymology and language
There is no known meaning behind the name of Kauai. Native Hawaiian tradition indicates the name's origin in the legend of Hawaiiloa — the Polynesian navigator attributed with discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. The story relates how he named the island of Kauai after a favorite son; therefore a possible translation of Kauai is "place around the neck", meaning how a father would carry a favorite child. Another possible translation is "food season."
Kauai was known for its distinct dialect of the Hawaiian language before it went extinct there. Whereas the standard language today is based on the dialect of Hawaii island, the Kauai dialect was known for pronouncing /k/ as /t/. (In fact, Kauai retained the old pan-Polynesian /t/, while Hawaii has innovated and changed it.) Therefore, the native name for Kauai was Tauai, and the major settlement of Kapaa would have been called Tapaa.
Geography
Kauai's origins are volcanic. The highest peak on this mountainous island is Kawaikini at . The second highest peak is Mount Waialeale near the center of the island, above sea level. One of the wettest spots on Earth, with an annual average rainfall of 460 inches (11,700 mm), is located on the east side of Mount Waialeale. The high annual rainfall has eroded deep valleys in the central mountains, carving out canyons with many scenic waterfalls. On the west side of the island, Waimea town is located at the mouth of the Waimea River, whose flow formed Waimea Canyon, one of the most scenic canyons in the world, and which is part of Waimea Canyon State Park. At deep, Waimea Canyon is often referred to as "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific".
History
During the reign of King Kamehameha, the islands of Kauai and Niihau were the last Hawaiian Islands to join his Kingdom of Hawaii. Their ruler, Kaumualii, resisted Kamehameha for years. King Kamehameha twice prepared a huge armada of ships and canoes to take the islands by force and twice failed; once due to a storm, and once due to an epidemic. In the face of the threat of a further invasion, however, Kaumualii decided to join the kingdom without bloodshed, and became Kamehameha's vassal in 1810, ceding the island to the Kingdom of Hawaii upon his death.
Economy
Tourism is Kauai's largest industry. In 2007, 1,271,000 visitors came to Kauai, and the two largest groups were from the United States (84% of all visitors) and Japan (3%). As of 2003, there were a total of approximately 27,000 jobs on Kauai, of which the largest sector was accommodations–food services (26%, 6,800 jobs) followed by government (15%) and retail (14.5%), with agriculture accounting for just 2.9% (780 jobs) and educational services providing just 0.7% (183 jobs). In terms of income, the various sectors that are comprised by the visitors industry accounted for one third of Kauai's income. On the other hand, employment is dominated by small businesses, with 87% of all nonfarm businesses having fewer than 20 employees.
As of 2003, Kauai's unemployment rate was 3.9%, compared to 3.0% for the entire state and 5.7% for the United States as a whole; and, Kauai's poverty rate was 10.5%, compared to the State's 10.7%. As of mid-2004, the median price of a single family home was $528,000, a 40% increase over 2003. As of 2003, Kauai's percentage of home ownership, 48%, was significantly lower than the State's 64%, and vacation homes were a far larger part of the housing stock than the State-wide percentage (Kauai 15%, State 5%)..
In the past, sugar plantations were Kauai's most important industry, but most of that land is now used for ranching. Kauai's sole remaining sugar operation, the 118-year-old Gay & Robinson Plantation has announced that it plans to transform itself into a manufacturer of ethanol from sugar cane.
Fruits and Crops
Land in Kaua?i is very fertile and is home to many varieties of fruits and crops. Guava, sugarcane and pineapple to name a few.
Island facts
The city of Lihue, on the island's southeast coast, is the seat of Kauai County and the second largest city on the island. Kapaa, on the "Coconut Coast" (site of an old coconut plantation) about north of Lihue, has a population of nearly 10,000, or about 50% greater than Lihue. Waimea, once the capital of Kauai on the island's southwest side, was the first place in Hawaii visited by British explorer Captain James Cook in 1778.
1992's Hurricane Iniki may have caused an indirect change in Kauai's ecosystem. Some say a chicken farm was destroyed, causing all of the chickens to roam free that one may see today. Others say that sugarcane plantation laborers in the late 1800s and early 1900s brought and raised chickens (for eating and cockfighting) and many got loose over the years and multiplied. Whatever their original source, Kauai is now home to thousands of wild roosters and hens, roaming the island with few natural predators. Wild roosters have been known to disturb evening quiet time at odd hours with their crowing. Currently, the Humane Society is investigating the death of large numbers of Kauai chickens. The deaths are most likely due to bacterial infections caused by over-population.
The island of Kauai has been featured in more than 70 Hollywood movies and television shows, including the musical South Pacific and Disney's 2002 animated feature film and television series Lilo & Stitch. Scenes from South Pacific were filmed in the vicinity of Hanalei. Waimea Canyon was used in the filming of the 1993 film Jurassic Park. Parts of the island were also used for the opening scenes of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Other movies filmed here include Six Days Seven Nights, the remake of King Kong and John Ford's 1963 film Donovan's Reef.
Kauai is home to the U.S. Navy's "Barking Sands" Pacific Missile Range Facility, on the sunny and dry western shore.
Important towns and cities
Cities and towns on Kauai range in population from the roughly 9,500 people in Kapaa to tiny hamlets. The list below lists the larger or more notable of those from the northernmost end of Hawaii Route 560 to the western terminus of Hawaii Route 50.
Transportation
Lihue Airport serves the island.
Places of interest
See also
External links
- - Essential business information
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News and resource links
- The ~ main local newspaper
- - Glenn's daily Weather Narrative
- - The Source for Daily Pacific Disaster News
- - News for the Garden Island's North Shore
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