Oʻahu
The Gathering Place
Satellite photo of Oʻahu
Location in the state of Hawaiʻi
Geography
Location	21°28′N 157°59′W / 21.467°N 157.983°W / 21.467; -157.983Coordinates: 21°28′N 157°59′W / 21.467°N 157.983°W / 21.467; -157.983
Area	596.7 sq mi (1,545 km2)
Rank	3rd largest Hawaiian Island
Highest point	Kaʻala
Max elevation	4,003 ft (1,220.1 m)
Demographics
Population	953,207 (as of 2010[1])
Density	1,468/sq. mi. (567/km²)
Official Insignia
Flower	ʻIlima
Color	Melemele (yellow)

Aerial view of Oʻahu with freeways and highways, 3D computer-generated image

Fly-around tour of the island

Oʻahu (pronounced [oˈʔɐhu]) or Oahu /oʊˈɑːhuː/, known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and the most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oʻahu's southeast coast. Including small close-in offshore islands such as Ford Island and the islands in Kaneohe Bay and off the eastern (windward) 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.^[2] In the greatest dimension, this volcanic island is 44 miles (71 km) long and 30 miles (48 km) across. The length of the shoreline is 227 miles (365 km). 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. Ka'ala in the Waiʻanae Range, rising to 4,003 feet (1,220 m) above sea level.^[3]

Introduction [edit]

The island is home to about 953,207 people (approximately 75% of the resident population of the state, with approximately 75% of those living on the "city" side of the island). Oʻahu has for a long time been known as "The Gathering Place". However, the term Oʻahu has no confirmed meaning in Hawaiian, other than that of the place itself.^[4] 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.

Residents of Oʻahu refer to themselves as "locals" (as done throughout Hawaiʻi), no matter their ancestry.

The city of Honolulu—largest city, state capital, and main deepwater marine port for the State of Hawaiʻi—is located here. As a jurisdictional unit, the entire island of Oʻahu is in the City & County of Honolulu, although as a place name, Honolulu occupies only a portion of the southeast end of the island.

Well-known features found on Oʻahu include Waikīkī, Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, Kāneʻohe Bay, Kailua Bay, North Shore.

Being roughly diamond-shaped, surrounded by ocean and divided by mountain ranges, directions on Oʻahu are not generally described with the compass directions found throughout the world. Locals instead use "ewa" (pronounced "eh-va") to mean toward the western tip of the island, "Diamond Head" to be toward the eastern tip, "mauka" is toward the mountains and "makai" toward the sea.

Locals consider the island to be divided into various areas, which may overlap. The most commonly accepted areas are the "City", "Town" or "Town side", which is the metropolitan area from Halawa to the area below Diamond Head (residents of the island north of the Koʻolau Mountains consider the Town Side to be the entire southern half); "West Oʻahu," which goes from Pearl Harbor to Kapolei and Ewa and may include the Makaha and Waianae areas; the "North Shore" (northwestern coast); the "Windward Side" (northeastern coast); the "East Side" (the eastern portion of the island, including both the Windward Side and the area east of Diamond Head; and "The Valley" or "Central Oʻahu" which runs northeast from Pearl Harbor toward Haleiwa. These terms are somewhat flexible, depending on the area in which the user lives, and are used in a mostly general way.

History [edit]

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2011)

Pearl Harbor is the home of the largest U.S. Navy fleet in the Pacific. On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the U.S. forces by surprise.

The old Kingdom of Oʻahu was once ruled by the most ancient Aliʻi in all of the Hawaiian Islands. The first great king of Oʻahu was Mailikukahi, the law maker, who was followed by many generation of monarchs. Kualii was the first of the warlike kings and so were his sons. In 1773, the throne fell upon Kahahana, the son of Elani of Ewa. In 1783 Kahekili II, King of Maui, conquered Oʻahu and deposed the reigning family and then made his son Kalanikupule king of Oʻahu. Kamehameha the Great would conquer in the mountain Kalanikupule's force in the Battle of Nuʻuanu. Kamehameha founded the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi with the conquest of Oʻahu in 1795. Hawaiʻi would not be unified until the islands of Kauaʻi and Niʻihau surrendered under King Kaumualii in 1810. Kamehameha III moved his capital from Lāhainā, on Maui to Honolulu, Oʻahu in 1845. ʻIolani Palace, built later by other members of the royal family, is still standing, and is the only royal palace on American soil.

Oʻahu was apparently the first of the Hawaiian Islands sighted by the crew of HMS Resolution on January 18, 1778 during Captain James Cook's third Pacific expedition. Escorted by HMS Discovery, the expedition was surprised to find high islands this far north in the central Pacific. Oʻahu was not actually visited by Europeans until February 28, 1779 when Captain Charles Clerke aboard HMS Resolution stepped ashore at Waimea Bay. Clerke had taken command of the ship after Capt. Cook was killed at Kealakekua Bay (island of Hawaiʻi) on February 14, and was leaving the islands for the North Pacific.

Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor

The opening battle of World War II in the Pacific for the United States was the Imperial Japanese Navy attack on Pearl Harbor, Oʻahu on the morning of December 7, 1941. The surprise attack was aimed at the Pacific Fleet of the United States Navy and its defending Army Air Corps and Marine Air Forces. The attack damaged or destroyed twelve American warships, destroyed 188 aircraft, and resulted in the deaths of 2,403 American servicemen and 68 civilians (of those, 1,177 were the result of the destruction of the USS Arizona alone).

Today, Oʻahu has become a tourism and shopping haven. Over five million visitors (mainly from the American mainland and Japan) flock there every year to enjoy the quintessential island holiday experience.

An earthquake, measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale, struck the Island Of Hawai'i and the surrounding islands at 07:07:49 HST on October 15, 2006, causing an island-wide power outage and over $200 million in damage.

Tourist attractions [edit]

Downtown Honolulu

Waikīkī Beach is one of the best known beaches in the world.

Valley of the Temples Memorial Park near the island's eastern shore

Chinaman's Hat in Kualoa Valley

Top beaches [edit]

• Ala Moana Beach
• Hanauma Bay
• Kaneohe Bay
• Ko Olina Beach Park
• Kailua and Lanikai Beach
• Sandy Beach
• Sunset Beach
• Waikīkī Beach
• Waimanalo Beach
• Waimea Bay

Attractions [edit]

• Ala Moana
• Aloha Tower
• Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa
• Bernice P. Bishop Museum
• Diamond Head
• Kaena Point
• Honolulu
• Honolulu Museum of Art
• Laie Hawaii Temple
• Mauna Ala
• Makapu'u Lighthouse
• National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific or "Punchbowl"
• North Shore
• Pali Lookout
• Pearl Harbor
• Polynesian Cultural Center
• Triple Crown of Surfing
• USS Arizona Memorial
• USS Missouri
• Valley of the Temples Memorial Park
• Waikīkī

Oʻahu in media [edit]

Due to its beauty, easy access from Hollywood, and incentives offered by the state and local governments, Oʻahu has been featured in many movies and television shows. A sampling of notable films and shows that have shot scenes on Oʻahu includes, but is not limited to:

Hanauma Bay

Films [edit]

• 50 First Dates^{[citation needed]}
• Battleship (2012) is set and filmed on location on Oʻahu and the other Hawaiian islands^{[citation needed]}
• Blue Crush^{[citation needed]}
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall^{[citation needed]}
• From Here to Eternity (1953 film)^{[citation needed]}
• The Disney Channel movie Johnny Tsunami as well as its sequel, Johnny Kapahala, use O'ahu as the hometown of the family^{[citation needed]}
• Jurassic Park movies^{[citation needed]}
• Mighty Joe Young^{[citation needed]}
• Pearl Harbor^{[citation needed]}
• Some scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides were filmed on Oʻahu^{[citation needed]}
• Soul Surfer^{[citation needed]}
• The Even Stevens Movie, also by Disney, was filmed in various locations on O'ahu^{[citation needed]}
• The Karate Kid, Part II^{[citation needed]}
• Tora! Tora! Tora!^{[citation needed]}
• Windtalkers^{[citation needed]}
• The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Many scenes from the arena were filmed on O'ahu

In games [edit]

• Multiplayer online racing game Test Drive Unlimited takes place on a fully modeled Oʻahu island with 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of roads and highways. Oʻahu is featured in its sequel, Test Drive Unlimited 2, as a second island, together with Ibiza.^[5]

Literature [edit]

• The novel From Here to Eternity (1951) and the film and television series based on it all end with the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

In television [edit]

• Dante's Cove^{[citation needed]}
• The reality TV show Dog the Bounty Hunter is filmed in the regions of Honolulu, Oʻahu (as well as other regions in Oʻahu), and the city of Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi^{[citation needed]}
• The children's series Flight 29 Down was filmed on the island^{[citation needed]}
• The 1979 TV miniseries and 1980 From Here to Eternity TV series were filmed on location^{[citation needed]}
• Both the original Hawaii Five-O television series and its more recent version, Hawaii Five-0, are set and filmed on location on the island^{[citation needed]}
• Hawaiian Eye, while set in Hawai'i, was filmed in Los Angeles^{[citation needed]}
• Jake and the Fatman^{[citation needed]}
• The hit television series Lost was filmed almost entirely on O'ahu, and many of the show's stars still call the island home. The island's thick rainforests and picturesque beaches are prominently featured.^{[citation needed]}
• Magnum, P.I.^{[citation needed]}
• MythBusters shot their 2012 Season's "Duct Tape Island" episode on this island.^[6]
• North Shore^{[citation needed]}
• The River was filmed on O'ahu^{[citation needed]}

Renewable energy [edit]

From 2009 to 2011, Ocean Power Technologies ocean-tested its wave power generation system at the US Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH) at Kaneohe Bay. The Oʻahu system was launched under the Company's program with the US Navy for ocean testing and demonstration of such systems, including connection to the Oʻahu grid.^{[citation needed]}

Notable people [edit]

• Brian Grazer, Oscar-winning film and television producer
• Jeremiah Green, drummer
• Dave Hlubek, lead guitarist and founding member of Southern Rock band Molly Hatchet
• Jack Johnson, folk rock singer-songwriter
• Samuel Kamakau, historian
• Clark Little, photographer
• Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States
• Richard Rabago, Japanese-American martial artist
• Vernon Rieta, Kung Fu specialist, actor/stunt performer, and artist
• Garret T. Sato, actor
• Kristi Tauti, professional figure competitor, fitness model, and personal trainer
• Ronald Takaki, academic, historian, ethnographer and author
• Nautica Thorn, pornographic actress

See also [edit]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Oahu

Notes [edit]

References [edit]

• Doyle, David W., Rescue in Paradise: Oahu's Beaches and their Guardians (Island Heritage, 2001)
• Macdonald, Gordon A., Agatin T. Abbott, and Frank L. Peterson. 1983. Volcanoes in the Sea. University of Hawaiʻi Press, Honolulu. 517 pp.
• Pukui, M. K., S. H. Elbert, and E. T. Mookini. 1976. Place names of Hawaiʻi. University of Hawaiʻi Press. 289 pp.

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Oahu

• Oahu travel guide from Wikivoyage

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