Hawaii
In 1778, Captain James Cook became the first known European to go to the Hawaiian Islands. He named the islands the Sandwich Islands, after the Earl of Sandwich. Polynesian kings and a queen ruled the islands for about 100 years, making Hawaii the only state that was ever an independent monarchy. Because of this, it is also the only state with a royal palace.Hawaii, a Pacific state, is located in the Pacific Ocean 2,100 miles southwest of the mainland United States. It is the only state not located on the continent of North America and the only state made up entirely of islands. The state is made up of 132 islands, eight of which are considered major islands. Hawaii is the southernmost state and lies almost entirely in the tropics. Hawaii became the 50th state in 1959. Honolulu is the state's capital and largest city.Hawaii has the most diverse population of any state. Most of the state's population is made up of Asian descent, but it also has citizens with Japanese, Filipino, Polynesian, Chinese, and Korean backgrounds, as well as Caucasians. In fact, Hawaii is the only state not dominated by Americans of European descent. Almost all of the state's residents live on seven of the eight major islands and 75 percent of the population live on the island of Oahu. Maui is another of the major islands.Hawaii is known as the "Paradise of the Pacific" because of its exotic flowers, beaches with palm trees, beautiful mountains, breathtaking cliffs and canyons, thick rain forests, deep blue seas, and majestic waterfalls. The islands have limestone that comes from ancient coral reefs created when the sea level was higher than it is today and vast areas of lava beds. Hawaii is known for its pleasant climate created by cool Pacific winds.
