Big Island

The “Big Island” of Hawaii is, as the nickname implies, the largest of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii has 4,028 square miles of land and is more than five and a half times the size of the next-largest island, Maui. Hawaii Island is the most eastern and southern island in the main chain and also the largest island in the United States.

In 2020 Hawaii County had a population of 200,600, about 14 percent of the state’s total population, according to 2020 estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Hawaii County is part of the state’s 2nd Congressional District represented by Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard since 2012.

Mauna Kea on the Big Island – a dormant volcano – is considered the tallest mountain in the world when measured from the seafloor to summit at more than 33,000 feet.

Vog – volcanic smog – is a form of air pollution caused by a reaction between the gases from erupting volcanoes and oxygen, moisture and sunlight. One of the Big Island’s active volcanoes, Kilauea, saw its sulfur dioxide emissions increase when a new vent opened on March 12, 2008.

Big Island Economy

Hawaii County had the lowest median income level in the state and the highest unemployment rate, according to 2020 estimates from the U.S. Census bureau.

About 17 percent of Hawaii’s residents worked for the federal, state or local government. About 7 percent were self-employed and the rest were in private industry.

Land

The Big Island is the largest island in the state of Hawaii. It has 4,028 miles of square land and is larger than all of the other major islands combined.

Hawaii was built from five separate volcanoes: Kohala (extinct), Mauna Kea (dormant), Hualalai (dormant), Mauna Loa (active) and Kilauea (active, continuously erupting since 1983). Due to the Mauna Loa and Kilauea eruptions, Hawaii is still a growing island.

Hawaii’s most prominent peak is Mauna Kea. When measured from the seafloor to its summit, it is the tallest mountain on Earth at over 33,000 feet. Measured above sea level, it reaches 13,803 feet.

History Of Hawaii Island

The precise date of Polynesian settlers arriving on Big Island is unknown but is estimated to be between 800-1000 AD. They came to Hawaii in double-hulled sailing canoes, using the stars to navigate, from the Marquesas to the Hawaiian Islands. Others are thought to have sailed from Samoa, Tahiti and possibly Tonga.

After the arrival of Captain James Cook in January of 1787, the islands would undergo an intense period of change.

Kamehameha, a young chief from Kohala, would witness Cook’s death at Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island. He would then go on to unite all the islands after a long campaign of war beginning in Hawaii and ending on Kauai.

Kamehameha would become “Kamehameha the Great” for the accomplishment and would thereafter establish diplomatic ties with Westerners.

The Kingdom of Hawaii was officially established in 1810 under his rule. Kamehameha named the islands after his homeland of Hawaii Island.

In 1893, a group of U.S. annexationists, led by Lorrin A. Thurston, fabricated a story that Americans were under attack in Hawaii. On Jan. 17 of that year, Marines from the U.S.S. Boston aided the annexationists in the successful overthrow of the monarchy.

Hawaii County would then become a territory of the United States and in 1959 would adopt statehood.

Sugarcane, as with many of the other Hawaiian Islands, was the backbone of Hawaii’s economy beginning in the 19th Century. However, by the middle of the 1950’s, the industry began to downsize and would disappear entirely before 2000.

Today, the vast majority of Big Island’s economy is stimulated through tourism. Resorts and hotels lie primarily along the western coast of the island and provide thousands of jobs to local residents.

One of the major draws for tourists is the Volcanoes National Park. Kiluea, a world-famous volcano, has been continuously spewing lava since 1983.

Hawaii Island has two main population centers — Kona on the west coast and Hilo in the eastern part of the island. Hilo hosts the Merrie Monarch Festival, a weeklong celebration of Hawaiian culture and arts including a prestigious hula competition.