[One of Hawaii's traditional dances: from the worship of fire]
Preface
Hawaii, in fact, has three meanings:
If it is an administrative district, then it should be Hawaii, which is the only archipelago state in the United States, consisting of 132 islands in the central Pacific Ocean, and the capital of the state is Honolulu, or Honolulu, on the island of Oahu (also translated as Oahu).
[Map of Hawaii Island (i.e. Big Island) in 1901]
If it is an archipelago, then it should be the Hawaiian archipelago, and there are eight main islands: Hawaii Island (also called Big Island), Kauai, Niihau, Oahu (also translated as Oahu), Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and Kahulawey.
If you refer specifically to the island of Hawaii, it's even simpler.
[The capital of Hawaii: Honolulu (Honolulu City)]
Hawaii is an international tourist destination in the island monsoon climate, with an average annual temperature of 26°C-31°C, not only the blue sea, blue sky, sandy beaches, but also natural landscapes such as forests, canyons and waterfalls. However, here we will focus on four things that are representative of Hawaii and describe another aspect of it.
【Location of several major islands in the Hawaiian archipelago】
1. Coffee sold in excess of production
Hawaii is the only state in the U.S. that can grow and produce coffee on a large scale. The most famous and productive of Hawaiian coffees is Kona coffee, but for Hawaii, coffee is a foreign product, according to the mainstream view, it was brought to the island of Hawaii by the Spaniards in 1813 and cultivated.
It is a coffee that is closer to Central and South America, and the difference between Hawaiian coffee and Indonesian coffee and Vietnamese coffee in Asia is very obvious.
【Unripe Hawaiian Kona coffee beans】
For example, in terms of appearance, the shape of Kona coffee beans is more even and neat.
For example, the sweetness and sourness of Kona coffee beans are strong in both aspects.
For example, Hawaii has not only volcanoes, but also typhoons and even hurricanes, but the corresponding benefits are that the soil is more suitable for coffee growing, and the precipitation and sunshine are equally abundant.
【Coffee beans collected by local people in Hawaii】
Strictly speaking, Kona coffee is produced in the Kona region of Hawaii Island (i.e., the Big Island), especially in the west and south of Kona region, where countless coffee trees are scattered on the slopes of Hoarara and Maunaloa, where the altitude is generally between 150 and 750 meters, and although it is close to the volcano, it is just right for coffee to grow.
Kona coffee is mainly strong caramel sweet, but it will also be classified according to the small environment and quality of the growth, which can be roughly divided into three grades, but no matter which class, the production is definitely not as large as the sales, after all, after the fame, there will always be a situation of rubbing, this phenomenon is actually universal all over the world.
[Workers in Hawaii are shipping coffee beans]
The Kona area of Hawaii Island has limited space, and it can only maintain about 1,400 hectares of land per year to grow coffee, and the yield of coffee beans per hectare is about 2,200-2,250 kilograms, so under normal circumstances, the annual output of Hawaii Kona coffee is 3.1 million to 3.2 million tons.
The vast majority of this coffee is sold to the United States, where the average adult drinks at least 3-5 cups of coffee per day and consumes at least 40 billion cups of coffee each year.
【Coffee Plantations in Hawaii】
2. Sucrose, which is rarely used for export
If we only look at cane sugar and do not consider beet sugar, there were three famous "sugar bowls" in the world that were capable of exporting in large quantities throughout the 20th century: Brazil in South America, Hawaii in the Pacific, and Cuba in the Atlantic.
To this day, only Brazil and Hawaii still maintain their dominance in sugar production and exports, and here we will focus on Hawaii's sugar.
【Sugar cane plantation on Maui Island in the Hawaiian Islands】
Unlike coffee, sugar cane is not a foreign product to Hawaii, it is considered "homegrown". Around 300-700 AD, immigrants from the islands of the Central and South Pacific brought sugar cane to some of the Hawaiian archipelago and cultivated it in small quantities.
But for a long time, Indigenous people did not use sugar cane to extract sugar, until 1825, when American merchants pioneered the establishment of the first large-scale commercial sugar cane plantation in Hawaii.
[A steam train used in Hawaii to transport sugar cane or sugar]
About two-thirds of the entire Hawaiian Islands are used for sugar cane, which normally produces 1 million tons of sugar per year. Hawaii's sugar production accounts for more than 10% of the total annual sugar consumption in the United States, and in 2021, for example, the United States consumed more than 9.3 million tons of sugar.
In addition, after years of tourism guidance, Hawaii has also integrated sugar cane plantations with tourist attractions.
[Today's sugarcane cultivation in Hawaii has been automated and even intelligent]
3. There are active volcanoes and more than one
The Hawaiian Islands are located in one of the most seismically active areas on Earth, and the Hawaiian Islands are volcanic islands, which were formed because they are located in the crustal fault zone at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, and magma erupts from the crustal faults to form islands.
【Topography of some islands in Hawaii】
In the 60s of the 20th century, some geologists in the world once put forward a point of view: the strange geomorphology of the Hawaiian Islands can be explained by the hidden hydrothermal vent activity under the Hawaiian Islands.
The rough idea is that the Pacific plate moves slowly above the Hawaiian hot springs, like a piece of paper moving on a lit candle, and volcanoes begin to erupt wherever they move, and volcanic islands are formed over time and over tens of thousands of years.
【Topography of some islands in Hawaii】
In addition to extinct volcanoes, which have been in a "relatively quiet" state without significant movement for many years, there are many cases of extinct volcanoes awakening, sudden intensification of movement, and eruptions in world history and geography, and the Hawaiian Islands have at least 6 active volcanoes, and here are 2 of Hawaii's volcanoes.
【Topography of some islands in Hawaii】
At about 1,280 meters above sea level, Kilauea is the second largest volcano in the Hawaiian Islands and one of the youngest and most active volcanoes in the world, having erupted more than 30 times in the past 50 years — an average of once every 18 months.
Kilauea's crater is large, with a diameter of more than 4,020 meters and a depth of more than 130 meters, forming a saucer-shaped crater basin with many small craters scattered throughout the basin.
【Kilauea Volcano: Ready to Try】
Looking down from the plane, the entire crater of Kilauea looks like a cauldron with many small cauldrons nested within a cauldron. Among these many small craters, the most famous is the crater of "Harimo", which means "home of eternal flame" in the local language of Hawaii.
【Kilauea Volcano: Magma into the Sea】
Kilauea is currently in its "growth phase" and is still a "young man" among active volcanoes, so it will still erupt frequently in the coming days, most recently in June 2023.
[It feels spectacular and terrifying]
Mauna Kea is the highest mountain in the Hawaiian Islands, at an altitude of about 4,200 meters, it is the largest volcano in the world, with more than 30 eruptions in the past 200 years, and there are still several pot-shaped craters and large caldas about 2,700 meters wide on the summit.
【View of Maunakea Volcano from afar】
However, at this stage, Mauna Kea Volcano is relatively low in activity - the last large-scale eruption was in 1950, when Mauna Loa, which had been dormant for many years, began to erupt almost instantly, and the magma erupted even higher than the Empire State Building in New York (about 381 meters).
Lava gushes out of calderas and crevasses and flows down the slopes at a speed of about 40 kilometers per hour, and the hot magma rushes and eventually flows into the sea, where the sea boils and the sea steam soars to the sky, and the sea creatures that have not had time to swim away are quickly cooked.
The sudden eruption of Maunakea in 1950 lasted nearly 30 days and eventually formed a new headland. By March 1984, Mauna Loa had a small eruption, but it was much smaller than it was in 1950.
【The moment when the magma enters the sea】
On the ridge of the current Mauna Kea volcano, there is a large astronomical observatory jointly built by Canada, France, and the United States, and the optical telescope used there, with a lens diameter of about 10 meters, consisting of 36 small hexagonal lenses with a diameter of 1.8 meters.
【Astronomical Observatory of Mauna Kea Volcano】
Fourth, each island has its own flower chain
The flower chain is one of the symbols of the Hawaiian Islands (or the state of Hawaii) and represents a warm welcome to visitors.
These flower chains, made of a variety of flowers and shells, are guaranteed to be worn at least once by every visitor – but in fact, every visitor is worn once every time they land on different islands.
Moreover, many islands in the Hawaiian archipelago have different flower chains:
For example, the flower chain on the island of Hawaii (i.e., the Big Island) is woven from scarlet flowers.
For example, the flower chain in Maui is woven from pink heavenly roses.
For example, the flower chain on Oahu is woven with small yellow flowers.
For example, the flower chain in Kauai is woven from purple flowers and fruits.
For example, the flower chains on Niihau Island are made of delicate seashells.
It's easy to wear a different flower chain a few more times, and a few more islands will do the trick.
According to the current historiography, the first outsiders to the Hawaiian Islands should have sailed from the Marques Islands in the 13th century, and the word "Hawaii" is derived from a Polynesian word meaning "primitive home".
The Polynians, which is a collective term for the many ethnic groups that inhabit the Polynesian island group in eastern Oceania, at least Maori, Samoan, Tongan, Tuvaluan, Hawaiian, Tahitian, Tokelauan, Cook Islander, Wallis, Niuean, Easter Island, etc., each have their own unique customs and spoken languages.
I wonder if the batch of outsiders who landed on the islands of the Hawaiian Islands at that time would also receive the welcome and blessing of the flower chain?
[The seaside of Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii: Is it not the same as the impression, but there are actually a lot of people]
epilogue
The first European to discover Hawaii was the British explorer and navigator James Cook, who on January 18, 1778, led two sailing ships through Kauai, and discovered many islands in the Hawaiian archipelago one after another.
[This painting depicts the scene where the British discovered and ascended to Hawaii]
The American Revolutionary War broke out in 1775 and basically ended in 1783, and 1778 was the fourth year in full swing, and Britain was anxious to deal with American independence in North America. and a series of wars against Britain in Europe and Asia by France, Spain and others.
[These local Hawaiian wood carvings contain both religious culture and historical memory]
Hawaii's tourism industry dates back to 1898, when the United States annexed the Hawaiian Islands, and in 1901 began investing in hotels, amusement parks and a host of other facilities on several of Hawaii's islands. Therefore, the great development of tourism in Hawaii began more than 100 years ago.
[Map of some islands in Hawaii drawn by the British, 1785]