An Introduction to Hawaii Island

An introduction to Hawaii Island, also known as the Big Island of Hawaii.

The island of Hawaii is often called "The Big Island" to distinguish it from state of Hawaii, which has the same name. It is the largest of the Hawaiian islands and the youngesty of the Hawaiian Archipelago's populated islands. Its area at the time of this writing is about 4030 square miles, making it more then twice the size of all of the other Hawaiian islands combined.

Hawaii Island was formed from five major volcanoes, and exploring those volcanoes is one of the most popular activities on the Big Island. The Big Island of Hawaii is the only Hawaiian island that still has an active volcano and the national park surrounding that volano is among the most visited attractions on the island.

Hawaii island has a huge range of climates and geologies. The west side of the island, including the Kona and Kohala regions is typically dry, the east side is wet and lushly vegetated, the northern Hamakua coast is wild and rugged, the island's active volcanic region is the home of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and the southern Kau region is vast, rural, remote, and sparsely populated.

Most of the island's hotels and resorts are in the North Kona and South Kohala regions on the west coast, but there are smaller hotels, bed and breakfast inns, youth hostels, and vacation rentals on all parts of the island.

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More Articles About the Big Island

Hawaii Island Travel Guide

All of the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaii for Visitors

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