|
 Nihoa, also known as Bird Island or Moku Manu, is the youngest of
the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands; it is about 7.2 million years
old. Situated about 120 miles (193 km) northwest of the island of
Niihau and about 280 miles (450 km) northwest of Honolulu, Nihoa
Island encompasses 173.234 acres (70.105 ha) of dry land and is also
the tallest Northwestern Hawaiian Island, featuring 900 feet (274 m)
high vertical cliffs. The island had been much larger once, but
erosion did its job so that these 900 feet cliffs are all that’s
left.
Nihoa got its name based on how it looks like - “Nihoa” means
“tooth” in Hawaiian. The island’s volcanic peak looks like a tooth
that comes out of the ocean. In fact, Nihoa has two peaks, Miller’s
Peak in the west (895 feet/273 m) and Tanager Peak in the east (852
feet/260 m). There are also six valleys that slope down from north
to south, meeting at the south coast of the island: West Valley,
West Palm Valley, Miller Valley, Middle Valley, East Palm Valley and
East Valley. Other interesting features on Nihoa include Dog’s Head
Peak (358 feet/109 m), which is named because it looks like that,
and Pinnacle Peak (626 feet/191 m), which is a volcanic dike.
Albatross Plateau is the only flat area on Nihoa.
Nihoa was once settled by the early Hawaiians. Extensive prehistoric
agricultural terraces and house sites have been found on the island.
However, it is not known exactly how many people once lived on Nihoa.
Even though large terraces were found that suggest a large number of
people living there, there is only a small amount of freshwater on
the island. That’s why it is thought that Nihoa was only used for
religious purposes.
As with almost all other Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, all visitors
to Nihoa need to obtain a USFWS-issued special-use permit to go on
the island. This is to prevent the introduction of alien species to
the island’s fragile ecosystem. In 1988, Nihoa was added to the
National Register of Historic Places and became part of the
Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in June of 2006.
Photo credit: Photos courtesy of Northwestern
Hawaiian Islands Multi-Agency Education Project |
Ala
Moana Beach Park, located between Waikiki and downtown Honolulu, is a
favorite beach among local Oahu residents. Often times less crowded than
Waikiki Beach, Ala Moana is a great place to swim, picnic, stroll on the
beach or to relax.
Wailea
Beach on Maui’s west coast is long and has golden sand. It’s one of five
beaches that are part of the Wailea resort complex, so it's often times
crowded. 
Kaena,
which means “red hot” or “glowing” in the Hawaiian language, is the name
of the northwestern tip of the island of Oahu. Kaena Point State Park is
so remote that no road leads here.
