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This page is for coordinating articles which will appear on the main portal. To make it easier to maintain consistency, a formatting template has been set up at Portal:Hawaii/Selected article/Template. The template is used as follows:

{{subst:Portal:Hawaii/Selected article/Template
  | articlename = name of article (no wikilink; required)
  | image = image to accompany article (optional)
  | imagecaption = caption for thumbnail image (optional)
  | imagesize = size of accompanying image in pixels (optional; default is 200px)
  | description = description of article (required)
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Selected article

The Hawaiian island chain.

The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands or the Leeward Islands are the small islands and atolls in the Hawaiian island chain located northwest (in some cases, far to the northwest) of the islands of Kauaʻi and Niʻihau. They are administered by the U.S. state of Hawaiʻi except Midway Atoll, which has temporary residential facilities and is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In the state of Hawaiʻi, they are part of the City & County of Honolulu. The United States Census Bureau defines this area as Census Tract 114.98 of Honolulu County. Its total land area is 8.0485 km² (3.1075 sq mi). For the full article, click here.

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Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi
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The Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oʻahu, Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi and Kauaʻi by the chiefdom of Hawaiʻi (or the "Big Island") into one unified government.

Through swift and bloody battles, led by a warrior chief later immortalized as Kamehameha the Great, the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was established with the help of such British sailors as John Young and Alexander Adams and western weapons. Although successful in attacking both Oʻahu and Maui, he failed to secure a victory in Kauaʻi, his effort hampered by a storm. Eventually, Kauaʻi's chief swore allegiance to Kamehameha's rule. The unification ended the feudal society of the Hawaiian islands transforming it into a "modern", independent constitutional monarchy crafted in the tradition of European empires. For the full article, click here.

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Landsat satellite image of Kahoʻolawe
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Kahoʻolawe is the smallest of the 8 main volcanic islands in the Hawaiian Islands. It is located 7 miles (11.2 km) southwest of Maui and southeast of Lānaʻi and is 18 km (11 miles) long by 10 km (6 miles) across. Total area is 115.595 km² (44.63 mile²). The highest point is the crater of Lua Makika at the summit of Puʻu Moaulanui, which is 450 m (1,477 ft) above sea level. The island is relatively dry because the low elevation fails to generate much orographic precipitation from the northeastern trade winds and it is located in the rain shadow of Maui's 3055 m (10,023 ft) high East Maui Volcano (Haleakalā). More than one quarter of the island has been eroded down to saprolitic hardpan. For the full article, click here.

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Aerial view of Tripler Army Medical Center

Tripler Army Medical Center is the headquarters of the Pacific Regional Medical Command of the armed forces administered by the United States Army in the State of Hawaii. It is the largest military hospital in the Asian and Pacific Rim region and serves a military sphere of jurisdiction that spans over 52% of the earth's surface. Located on the slopes of Moanalua Ridge overlooking the Honolulu neighborhoods of Moanalua and Salt Lake, Tripler Army Medical Center's massive coral pink structure can be seen from any point in the Honolulu District. For the full article, click here.

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Aerial satellite image of Hurricane Iniki

Hurricane Iniki (pronounced E-Nee-Kee) (Hawaiian for Enid) was the most powerful hurricane to strike the U.S. state of Hawaiʻi and the Hawaiian Islands in recorded history. Forming during the strong El Niño of 1991–1994, Iniki was one of eleven Central Pacific tropical cyclones during the 1992 season. The eye of Hurricane Iniki passed directly over the island of Kauaʻi on September 11, 1992, as a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale. It was the first hurricane to hit the state since Hurricane Iwa in the 1982 season, and the first major hurricane since Hurricane Dot in 1959. For full article, click here.

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Portrait of King Kamehameha I

Kamehameha Day on June 11 is a public holiday of the state of Hawaii in the United States. It honors Kamehameha the Great, the monarch who first established the unified Kingdom of Hawaiʻi – comprising the Hawaiian Islands of Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui and Hawaiʻi. Kamehameha is known as the Napoleon of the Pacific for his achievements in warfare and diplomacy.

Kamehameha Day is the only public holiday in the United States that honors a monarch. Prince Kūhiō Day is the only other holiday in the United States that celebrates the life of a royal. For full article, click here.

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Kawaiahaʻo Church is known as the Westminster Abbey of Hawaiʻi: site of royal coronations, christenings and funerals.

Kawaiahaʻo Church (or Ka wai a Haʻo) is a historic Congregational church located in Downtown Honolulu on the Hawaiian Island of Oʻahu. At one time the national church of the Hawaiian Kingdom and chapel of the royal family, Kawaiahaʻo Church is popularly known as Hawaiʻi's Westminster Abbey. It is one of the oldest standing Christian places of worship in Hawaiʻi, although four thatched churches stood at or near the present site before construction of the stone church. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark on the National Register of Historic Places. For full article, click here.

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Hilo High School is a public, co-educational high school of the Hawaii State Department of Education, and serves grades nine through twelve. Established in 1906, its first class graduated in 1909. Hilo High School is near the Wailuku River in Hawaii County on the Big Island of Hawaii. It is situated at 556 Waianuenue Avenue on across the street from Hilo Intermediate School, one of its two feeder schools, the other being Kalanianaole Intermediate School. Hilo's symbol and mascot is the Viking and its school colors are blue and gold. Hilo High School is the oldest outer-island high school and second-oldest public high school in the state, following McKinley, founded in 1865. Hilo High School celebrated its centennial during Homecoming of 2006. For the full article, click here.

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Kīlauea Lighthouse is located in Kīlauea on the island of Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi in the Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge.

Kīlauea Point, a narrow, lava peninsula protruding from the northern shore of Kauaʻi, was purchased from the Kīlauea Sugar Plantation Company in 1909 "for the consideration of one dollar". Before construction could begin, a method for delivering supplies to the point had to be developed. Due to the lack of good roads in the area, the decision was made to bring the materials in by sea.

The lighthouse tender Kukui would anchor offshore and then dispatch small boats laden with supplies to a cove near the point. Since there was no beach, the boats would anchor to cleats cemented into the lava rocks at the point. A boom derrick, constructed on a ledge ninety feet above the water, would pluck the supplies from the boats and place them on a loading platform 110 feet above the water. For the full article, click here.

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The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum is home to the world's largest collection of Polynesian artifacts.

The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawai'i State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. Founded in 1889, it is the largest museum in Hawaiʻi and is home to the world's largest collection of Polynesian cultural and scientific artifacts. Besides the comprehensive exhibits of Hawaiiana, the Bishop Museum has an extensive entomological collection of over 13.5 million specimens, third largest collection in the United States.

Charles Reed Bishop, Hawaiʻi philanthropist and co-founder of Kamehameha Schools and First Hawaiian Bank, built the museum in memory of his late wife Bernice Pauahi Bishop. She was the last direct descendant princess of the Kamehameha Dynasty that ruled over the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi since 1810. Bishop had originally intended the museum to house family heirlooms passed down to him through the royal lineage of his wife. For the full article, click here.

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Satellite view of Hawaiʻi

The Island of Hawaiʻi (called the Big Island or Hawaiʻi Island) is a volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean and one of the eight main islands that compose the U.S. state of Hawaiʻi. With an area of 4,028 square miles (10,432 km²), it is the largest island in the United States and the 76th largest island in the world. Larger than all of the other Hawaiian Islands combined, Hawaiʻi is said to have been named for Hawaiʻiloa, the legendary Polynesian navigator who first discovered it. However, other accounts attribute the name to the legendary land or realm of Hawaiki, a place from which the Polynesians originated, the place where they go in the afterlife, the realm of the gods.

For the full article, click here.

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Satellite image of Lānaʻi

Lānaʻi is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is also known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The only town is Lānaʻi City, a small settlement. The island is somewhat comma-shaped, with a width of 18 miles (29 km) in the longest direction. The land area is 140.5 square miles (364 km²), making it the 42nd largest island in the United States. It is separated from the island of Molokaʻi by the Kalohi Channel to the north, and from Maui by the ʻAuʻau Channel to the east. The United States Census Bureau defines Lānaʻi as Census Tract 316 of Maui County. Its total population was 3,193 as of the 2000 census. Many of the islands landmarks and sites are located off of dirt roads where four wheel drive is required. For the full article, click here.

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Satellite image of Kauaʻi

Kauaʻi is the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of 552.3 square miles (1,430.5 km2), it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle", Kauaʻi lies 105 miles (170 kilometers) across the Kauaʻi Channel, northwest of Oʻahu. Of volcanic origin, the highest peak on this mountainous island is Kawaikini at 5,243 feet (1,598 m). The second highest peak is Mount Waiʻaleʻale near the center of the island, 5,148 feet (1,569 m) above sea level. One of the wettest spots on Earth, with an annual average rainfall of 460 inches (11,700 mm), is located on the east side of Mount Waiʻaleʻale. The high annual rainfall has eroded deep valleys in the central mountains, carving out canyons with many scenic waterfalls. For the full article, click here.

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Satellite image of Mauʻi. The shape of the island resembles the profile of a person.

The island of Mauʻi is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at 727.2 square miles (1883.5 km²) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest island in Maui County, which is composed of itself, Lanaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, and Molokaʻi. As of 2000, Maui had a resident population of 117,644, which is ranked third within the state behind the islands of Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi. Native Hawaiian tradition gives the origin of the island's name in the legend of Hawaiʻiloa, the Polynesian navigator attributed with discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. The story relates how he named the island of Mauʻi after his son who in turn was named for the demigod Māui, who is said to have raised all the Hawaiian Islands from the sea. The Island of Maui is also called the "Valley Isle" for the large fertile isthmus between its two volcanoes. For the full article, click here.

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Aerial view of Niʻihau

Niʻihau is the smallest of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands, having an area of 69.5 square miles (180 km2). Known as the "Forbidden Isle", Niihau lies 17.5 miles (28 km) across the Kaʻulakahi Channel, southwest of Kauaʻi. The island is home to Lake Halulu, the only natural lake of Hawaii.

Owned by Keith Robinson and Bruce Robinson, the island has been privately owned since 1864. As a result, Niʻihau is generally off-limits to all but relatives of the island's owners, U.S. Navy personnel, government officials, and invited guests. The island is famous as the location for the Niihau Incident, in which a Japanese fighter pilot crashed on the island and terrorized its residents during World War II. Commercially, the people of Niihau are known internationally for their gemlike shell lei craftsmanship. For the full article, click here.

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Satellite view of Molokaʻi, showing its distinctive moccasin shape.

Molokaʻi (also Molokai) is an island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) in size with a land area of 260.0 square miles (673.4 km²), making it the fifth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands and the 27th largest island in the United States. Molokaʻi is known as the "Friendly Isle" and is one of the least developed of the main Hawaiian islands. It is noted for the numerous Hawaiian fish ponds along its south shore, some of which have been restored in recent years. Molokaʻi is also the oldest site for sufferers of leprosy in the United States (the leper colony at Kalaupapa), which became widely known through the work of Father Damien. For the full article, click here.

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Satellite photo of Oʻahu

Oʻahu, the "Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in Hawaiʻi. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast. 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 596.7 square miles (1,545.4 km2), making it the 20th largest island in the United States. The island is the result of two separate shield volcanoes: Waiʻanae and Koʻolau, with a broad "valley" or saddle (the central Oʻahu Plain) between them. The highest point is Mt. Kaʻala in the Waiʻanae Range, rising to 4,003 feet (1,220 m) above sea level.

Ancient Hawaiian tradition attributes the name's origin in the legend of Hawaiʻiloa, the Polynesian navigator credited with discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. The story relates that he named the island after a son. For the full article, click here.

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Side view of Molokini

Molokini is an offshore crescent moon-shaped volcanic crater south of Maʻalaea Bay, Maʻui. It is a popular destination for scuba diving and snorkeling. While it is a popular tourist destination due to its offshore, exotic location, many watersport enthusiast guides note that overcrowding has made the experience less attractive. The islet is a Hawaiʻi State Seabird Sanctuary. During World War II, the Navy reportedly used Molokini for target practice because of its similarity in shape to a battleship. For the full article, click here.

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