Hawaii comprises a 1,600-mile long archipelago of more than 100 small islands, shoals, and reefs. The archipelago is situated almost directly in the middle of the Pacific Basin, about 3,000 miles south of Alaska and 2,400 miles west of California. Samuel Clemens, a.k.a. Mark Twain, called Hawaii "the loveliest fleet of islands that lies anchored in any ocean."

The Hawaiian islands were formed over 25 million years by the eruptions of underwater volcanoes in the approximate area of the Big Island of Hawaii. Lava from these eruptions hardened into rock as it was cooled by the ocean. As the earth's tectonic plates shift, the islands move gradually northwest an average of two inches per year across a vent in the earth's crust which incessantly spews lava into the ocean. The major inhabited islands are situated in the most southerly portion of the chain and include Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and Hawaii. Two small islands, Kahoolawe, off the southwest coast of Maui, and Niihau, just wet of Kauai, are also part of the archipelago.

Each of the islands is surrounded by a relatively shallow underwater shelf less than 600 feet deep. Most of this shelf extends only two or three miles offshore, dropping precipitously to depths of more than 12,000 feet. However, in the area known as the four-island group, comprising Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and Kahoolawe, a portion of the shelf called Penguin Bank is 27 miles long and 10 miles wide, with depths ranging from 25 to 50 fathoms.

Oahu, located northwest of Molokai, is the commercial and government center of the islands. The capital, Honolulu, is also the largest city, with about 1.1 million residents. The easternmost island is Hawaii Island, known both as the Orchid Island and the Big Island. Two active volcanoes periodically erupt on the island, covering much of the terrain with lava flows.

Northwest of Oahu is the Garden Isle, Kauai, which is blanketed by tropical rain forest. The summit of Mount Waialeale receives more than 400 inches of rainfall annually. The island that lies west of Kauai, Niihau, is privately owned and is not open to tourism. A tiny chain of islets and atolls, called the Leeward Islands, stretches out further west.

Maui, situated northwest of the Big Island, is famous for sun-drenched beaches, luxury resorts, and a historical whaling port. Most of the land on Lanai, west of Maui, is privately owned by the Dole Pineapple Company. Molokai, north of Lanai, is a tranquil island that consists mostly of ranchland.

More than 2,500 different species of plants are found in the Hawaiian islands. Of these, 95 percent do not exist anywhere else in the world. More than 500 species of tropical fish are found in the waters surrounding the islands. In winter, the islands are visited by large herds of humpback whales that migrate to the four-island group to breed after feeding in cool waters.