Hawaii

Hawaii became the 50th state of the United States on August 21, 1959. It is thus the youngest state of the United States before Alaska, which also joined in 1959. The territory of Hawaii is located on a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. This is almost 3,700 kilometers away from the mainland of the USA. The climate of Hawaii is tropical. The capital and largest city of Hawaii is Honolulu. Honolulu has about 352,000 inhabitants and is the only major city in Hawaii.

The islands of Hawaii are of volcanic origin and some of the volcanoes are still active today. The volcanoes in Hawaii are among the largest in the world. The highest peak of Hawaii is the 4,205 meter high volcano Mauna Kea, but it is no longer active. If you measure the height below sea level, Mauna Kea is the highest mountain in the world at 10,203 meters. The volcano Mauna Loa is also located in Hawaii and is the second largest volcano on earth in terms of volume. Its weight is so great that it changes the shape of the tectonic plate on which it lies.