Hawaii
Overview
 
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

s (August 21, 1959), and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...

, occupying most of an archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...

 in the central Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia. Hawaii’s diverse natural scenery, warm tropical climate, abundance of public beaches and oceanic surrounding, and active volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...

es make it a popular destination for tourists, surfers, biologists, and volcanologists alike.
Timeline

1778    James Cook is the first known European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the "Sandwich Islands".

1780    James Cook's ship ''HMS Resolution'' returns to England (Cook having been killed on Hawaii during the voyage).

1874    Hawaii signs a treaty with the United States granting exclusive trading rights.

1885    The first Japanese government-approved immigrants arrive in Hawaii.

1887    David Kalakaua, monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, is forced at gunpoint, at the hands of the Americans, to sign the Bayonet Constitution giving Americans more power in Hawaii while stripping Hawaiian citizens of their rights.

1891    Liliuokalani is proclaimed Queen of Hawaii, its last monarch.

1898    U.S. President William McKinley signs the Newlands Resolution annexing Hawaii as a territory of the United States.

1900    Hawaii becomes a territory of the United States, with Sanford B. Dole as governor.

1900    Hawaii becomes a United States territory.

1901    The legislature of Hawaii Territory convenes for the first time.

 
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