Oahu (usually Oahu outside Hawaiian and Hawaiian English), the "Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous island in the State of Hawaii. Including small close-in offshore islands such as Ford Island and the islands in Kaneohe Bay and off the eastern coast, it has a total land area of 596.66 mile² (1,545.34 km²). In greatest dimension, this volcanic island is 71 km (44 mi) long and 48 km (30 mi) across. The length of the shoreline is 366 km (227 mi). The island is the result of two separate shield volcanoes: Waianae and Koolau, with a broad "valley" or saddle (the central Oahu Plain) between them. The highest point is Mt. Kaala in the Waianae Range, rising to 1,225 m (4,019 ft) above sea level (Macdonald, Abbott, & Peterson, 1983). The 2000 census showed a population of 876,151, which was essentially the entire population of Honolulu County except for 5 individuals who lived in the far-flung Northwestern Hawaiian Islands portion of the county in the United States Census Bureau's Census Tract 114.98 of Honolulu County, Hawaii. Honolulu County and Census Tract 114.98, Honolulu County United States Census Bureau

The island is home to about 900,000 people (approximately 75% of the resident population of the state) and partly because of this, Oahu has for a long time been nicknamed "The Gathering Place". However, the term Oahu has no confirmed meaning in Hawaiian, other than that of the place itself (Pukui, et al., 1976). Ancient Hawaiian tradition attributes the name's origin in the legend of Hawaiiloa, the Polynesian navigator credited with discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. The story relates that he named the island after a son.

The city of Honolulu—largest city, state capital, and main deepwater marine port for the State of Hawaii—is located here. As a jurisdictional unit, the entire island of Oahu is in the City & County of Honolulu, although as a place name, Honolulu occupies only a portion of the southeast end of the island (essentially, the Honolulu District). The island extends from Kaena on the west end to Makapuu on the east. Well-known features found on Oahu include Waikīkī, Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, Kāneohe Bay, and the North Shore.

History

---

More on [ Oahu ]

Honolulu Advertiser - Local news

25th Infantry prepares for Iraq duty
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 06:41:00 -1000
SCHOFIELD BARRACKS — The commanding general of the 25th Infantry Division will head to northern Iraq in October with a shrinking number of U.S. forces and as the landscape has changed from security and raids to stability and reconstruction.
Kobayashi, 2 allies targeted
Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:34:00 -1000
The city Ethics Commission is reviewing a complaint that City Council members Donovan M. Dela Cruz, Charles K. Djou and Ann H. Kobayashi improperly used city resources to promote Kobayashi's mayoral campaign.
Mayoral debate Tuesday at theater will stream live
Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:38:00 -1000
Tickets to Tuesday's Honolulu mayoral debate at the Hawai'i Theatre will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Palin takes jabs at Obama, news media
Wed, 03 Sep 2008 23:41:00 -1000
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin electrified the Republican convention last night, pitching herself as a champion of government reform, mocking Democratic Sen. Barack Obama as an elitist and belittling media criticism of her experience.
Hawaii schools' night security patrols may be cut from budget
Wed, 03 Sep 2008 23:42:00 -1000
Education officials are proposing to trim night security patrols at 76 schools after an initial plan to cut the public school athletics budget failed.
Stop Rail Now petition rejected by city, Hawaii Supreme Court
Wed, 03 Sep 2008 23:47:00 -1000
Stop Rail Now's efforts to place an anti-rail ordinance on the November ballot suffered a fatal blow yesterday.

Subscribe to Hawaii RSS feed

Hawaii Oahu Island Helicopter Tour: A short movie of our 1 hour trip around Oahu island in Hawaii, flying past Waikiki beach, Diamond head, Hanauma bay, Pearl Harbour and the valley where Lost & Jurassic Park were filmed.