The
Hawaiian Islands are actually just the peaks of a very long stretched undersea volcano range.
For the last 32 million
years the
Pacific Plate has moved in a northwestern direction over the
Hawai'i Hotspot, creating one volcano after the
other.
The islands to the north are thus the oldest and have ceased volcanic activity long time ago. The Haleakala volcano on
Maui is only dormant and the southernmost island, Hawai'i, still features two active volcanoes that regularly erupt with spectacular
flows of red-hot lava.
Just wait
another 10.000 years for it to emerge.
About 1000 years ago Polynesian explorers from the
Marquesas Islands started to settle
the Hawaiian Islands.
Presently 1,5 million happy souls call it home.
Captain Cook discovered the islands for Britain in
1778 but was killed by locals a year later at
Kealakekua Bay when he tried to kidnap the local chief.
The state was overthrown in 1893 with 'help'
of the USA that subsequently annexed the islands in 1898.
The Japanese surprise
attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941
drove the USA into WW II and eventually Japan into defeat..
The Hawaiin Islands joined the USA as the 50th and sofar last state
in 1959.
