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Hawaii
is the 50th state of the United States, comprising a group of eight
major islands and numerous islets in the central Pacific Ocean.
Area, 6,450
sq mi (16,706 sq km).
Pop. (2000) 1,211,537, a 9.3%
increase since the 1990 census.
Capital and largest city, Honolulu.
Nickname, Aloha State.
Motto, Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina
I Ka Pono [The Life of the Land Is Perpetuated in
Righteousness].
State bird, Hawaiian goose.
State flower, hibiscus.
State tree, candlenut. 
The
Hawaiian Islands are of volcanic origin and are edged with
coral reefs. Hawaii is the largest and geologically the youngest
island of the group, and Oahu , where the capital, Honolulu
, is located, is the most populous and economically important.
The other principal islands are Kahoolawe , Kauai , Lanai ,
Maui , Molokai , and Niihau . The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands,
consisting of uninhabited islets and excluding Midway , stretch
more than 1,100 mi (1,800 km) from Nihoa to Kure. Most of islets
are encompassed in the Hawaiian Island National Wildlife Refuge;
the surrounding waters and coral reefs are in the vast 84-million-acre
(34-million-hectare) Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef
Reserve. Palmyra atoll and Kingman Reef , which were within
the boundaries of Hawaii when it was a U.S. territory, were
excluded when statehood was achieved.
Sugarcane
and pineapples, grown chiefly on large company-owned plantations,
are the major agricultural products and the basis of the islands'
principal industry, food processing. Macadamia nuts, papayas,
greenhouse vegetables, and coffee are also important. Other products
include coffee, cattle, and dairy products. Commercial fishing,
especially tuna, is also significant. Tourism is, however, the
leading source of income, and defense installations, including
Pearl Harbor, follow.
*Information
from Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
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