Hawaii

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Hawaii

state, United States

Also known as: Aloha State, Hawaii Islands, Hawaiian Islands, Sandwich Islands

Written by Lee S. Motteler, J. Patricia Morgan Swenson•All

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Jan 22, 2025 • Article History

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Hawaii, constituent state of the United States of America. Hawaii (Hawaiian: Hawai‘i) became the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959. Hawaii is a group of volcanic islands in the central Pacific Ocean. The islands lie 2,397 miles (3,857 km) from San Francisco, California, to the east and 5,293 miles (8,516 km) from Manila, in the Philippines, to the west. The capital is Honolulu, located on the island of Oahu. Hawaii was characterized by Mark Twain as “the loveliest fleet of islands that lies anchored in any ocean.” The name is thought to derive from Hawaiki, the former name of ...(100 of 6788 words)

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