Portal:Hawaii/Selected article/17

Oahu
Oahu, the "Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in Hawaii. 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 sqmi, making it the 20th largest island in the United States. The island is the result of two separate shield volcanoes: Waianae and Koolau, with a broad "valley" or saddle (the central Oahu Plain) between them. The highest point is Mt. Kaala in the Waianae Range, rising to 4003 ft above sea level.

Ancient Hawaiian tradition attributes the name's origin in the legend of Hawaiiloa, 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.