| Table of contents |
|
2 History 3 Demographics 4 Cities and Towns 5 Tourist information 6 Eternal links |
Geography
The county has a total area of 13,174 km² (5,087 mi²). 10,433 km² (4,028 mi²) of it is land and 2,742 km² (1,059 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 20.81% water.
The largest town is Hilo, located on the windward coast and one of the wettest cities in the world.
History
Hawai`i was the home island of Kamehameha the Great who by 1795 had violently united most of the Hawaiian Islands under his rule. He gave his kingdom the name of his native island, which is why we now call all the islands Hawai`i. Captain James Cook, who made the Western world aware of these "Sandwich isles", was killed on Hawai`i.
Demographics
As of 2000, there are 148,677 people, 52,985 households, and 36,877 families residing in the county. The population density is 14/km² (37/mi²). There are 62,674 housing units at an average density of 6 persons/km² (16 persons/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 31.55% White, 0.47% African American, 0.45% Native American, 26.70% Asian, 11.25% Pacific Islander, 1.14% from other races, and 28.44% from two or more races. 9.49% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 52,985 households out of which 32.20% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.60% are married couples living together, 13.20% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 30.40% are non-families. 23.10% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.00% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.75 and the average family size is 3.24.
In the county the population is spread out with 26.10% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 26.20% from 25 to 44, 26.00% from 45 to 64, and 13.50% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 39 years. For every 100 females there are 100.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 97.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county is $0, and the median income for a family is $0. Males have a median income of $0 versus $0 for females. The per capita income for the county is $0. 0.00% of the population and 0.00% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 0.00% are under the age of 18 and 0.00% are 65 or older.
Cities and Towns
Tourist information
The Big Island is famous for its volcanoes. Kilauea, the most active, has been erupting without pause for nearly a decade.
At the sea shore where the lava meets the ocean, tourists can see billows of white steam rising from the shore line. At night, the lava lights up the steam to give a orange glow. When the molten lava makes contact with the ocean, the sea water turns into steam, and the sudden cooling of the lava causes the newly formed lava rocks to explode and crack into small pieces. The broken up lava is further ground into black sands along the shore by the ocean waves. Black sand beaches are common on the big island.
Another popular tourist spot is the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut orchard and factory. It is interesting and good shopping for chocolate and the famous Macadamia nuts.