Hometown USA

Connecting America's Communities

Miscellaneous Hawaiian Information

Akaka Falls

  • Hawaii, being one of the United States, is included in the North American Numbering Plan; its area code within that plan is 808. It is also one of only three U.S. states that do not observe Daylight Saving Time, and the only one of those three that does not use DST anywhere in its territory.
  • ‘Iolani Palace, the only royal residence in the United States, was once the home of King Kalakaua and Queen Lili‘uokalani, the last monarchs of Hawai‘i. It is open to visitors.
  • Hawai‘i is the only U.S. state without a state police force.
  • Hawai‘i is home to two of the largest independent schools in the United States: Punahou School and the Kamehameha Schools.
  • Pele is the well-known goddess of Hawaiian volcanoes. Local legends and ghost stories often revolve around her visits, as well as sightings of Menehune and Nightmarchers.
  • Local directions in Hawai‘i are not expressed in terms of compass points (i.e., north-south-east-west) but by a radial system that uses local landmarks. For example, mauka means inland (literally, "towards the mountain"), while makai means the opposite ("towards the sea"). In Honolulu "Diamond Head" is equivalent to "east," because that's the main landmark on the coast east of downtown Honolulu, and "‘Ewa" is equivalent to "west," because that place is on the coast west of Honolulu. So instead of saying something was on the north-west corner of an intersection in Honolulu, it might be described as the "mauka and ‘ewa" corner of that intersection.
  • Hawai‘i is home to a number of endemic plant and animal species that are vulnerable to outside threats. Among the rarest is the Po‘ouli, a Hawaiian honeycreeper with only three surviving members, all of which live on the island of Maui.
  • Hawai‘i is known for its many people of multiracial and multiethnic heritage, or hapa ancestry.
  • Mount Wai‘ale‘ale (rippling waters), Kaua‘i is the wettest spot on earth, averaging 460 inches of rain a year.
  • Hawaii (Hawai‘i) has an array of colorful beaches, with sand colors of white, black, red, grey, brown-black and green.
  • Famous Crimes and superstitions Diane Suzuki, Morgan's Corner, Seven Bridges of Manoa, The Kahala Graveyard