United States · Field notes

Hawaii

Three details to notice, with the sources behind each story.

geography

An island chain records a moving Earth

Hawaiʻi’s islands formed as a huge section of Earth’s outer layer, the Pacific Plate, moved over a volcanic hotspot. Islands generally get older toward the northwest as they move away from the source of new lava.

Source: National Park Service: Oceanic hot spots · Accessed 2026-09-22

Dark, uneven lava rock extending toward the distant blue ocean in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. — A Mauna Ulu lava flow on Hawaiʻi Island.
Robert Linsdell from St. Andrews, Canada / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP; no cropping. · CC BY 2.0

history

Hawaiʻi was once a kingdom

ʻIolani Palace in Honolulu was the home of Hawaiian royalty, including King Kalākaua and Queen Liliʻuokalani. Completed in 1882, it preserves a reminder that Hawaiʻi was once an independent kingdom.

Source: ʻIolani Palace: Palace history · Accessed 2026-09-22

The ornate exterior and verandas of ʻIolani Palace behind trees in Honolulu. — ʻIolani Palace, the former royal residence in Honolulu.
Farragutful / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and converted to WebP; no cropping. · CC BY-SA 4.0

nature

A Hawaiian goose with less webbing

The nēnē, Hawaiʻi’s state bird, is a goose found naturally only on these islands. It has less skin connecting its toes than the related Canada goose and often lives on land in open country and scrub.

Source: Hawaiʻi Birding Trails: Hawaiian goose · Accessed 2026-09-22

A Hawaiian goose with a black head and ridged buff neck standing on rock above the sea. — A nēnē at Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge on Kauaʻi.
Brenda Zaun of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP; no cropping. · CC BY 2.0