Lanai, Kahoolawe and Niihau – Google Sightseeing

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We first Lanai （London), also known as the “Pineapple Island”. Lanai, with an area of 364 square kilometers (141 square miles), is the smallest open island in Hawaii. It is located 14 kilometers (9 miles) west of Maui and south of Molokai, but it was not inhabited until the 16th century, hundreds of years later than its neighbors, because people feared that the island was haunted by evil spirits.

Lanai is home to the largest prehistoric village in Hawaii. satisfyThe village was once a favorite fishing spot for King Kamehameha I but was abandoned in the 1880s. The faint black outlines of building foundations and archaeological ruins can be seen here.

In 1922, Dole Food Company acquired 98% of Lanai and transformed it into the world’s largest pineapple plantation, as the island’s fertile volcanic soil was ideal for growing pineapples. When the pineapple industry began to hit rock bottom in the 1980s, Dole’s then-parent company, Castle & Cooke, began closing plantations and refocusing the island’s economy on tourism. Today, the main source of employment on the island is the two large golf resorts built in the past 25 years. However, Pineapple and sugar cane fields It is clearly visible from the air. In June 2012, Castle & Cooke sold 98% of its shares to Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison for about $600 million; the remaining 2% belongs to the state.

The only settlement on the island is Lanai Citypopulation 3,100. Lanai City was built by Dole in 1923 to house plantation workers and is the only intact company town in Hawaii. Dorr Parkand all dressed up as Christmas Celebrations In November 2011, Google Street View was launched.

There are hundreds of kilometers of roads on Lanai, but 90% of them are for 4WD vehicles only. One of the few paved roads outside Lanai City is Kiomku ExpresswayWinding through red volcanic soil, it reaches the ocean on Lanai’s north side, with stunning views of Molokai and Maui in the distance.

Lanai is also known for its beaches. The most famous beach is Keolohia Beach, located at the north end of the Keomuku Highway. cargo ship It has been abandoned for decades. Remember, when you travel to Keolohia, Nude sunbathing is strictly prohibited.

Located 29 km (18 mi) southeast of Lanai and 11 km (7 mi) west of Maui crazy （Rescue). Kahoolawe, about one-third the size of Lanai, is the smallest and driest of the eight main Hawaiian Islands. When the first Hawaiian settlers arrived a thousand years ago, the island was a dry forest landscape, but as early settlers cleared the land for firewood and agricultural purposes, the environment became more like a prairie. Due to drought and a lack of fresh water, the island has remained sparsely populated and has been uninhabited for more than 70 years.

Kahoolawe was used as a penal colony in the mid-1800s until it was turned over to ranchers in 1858. Drought and overgrazing caused much of the topsoil to blow away, and the last ranch was abandoned in 1941. The island is nicknamed “Target Island” because it was used as a bombing range by the United States Armed Forces between 1941 and 1990. Bombing facilities yes still exists The entire island of Kahuolawe is a national cultural and natural reserve. Reforestation work involves blasting away sections of hard soil with explosive lines, and Plant the seedlings in the troughs thus formed.

The biggest remnant of Kahoolawe’s military past is the massive Sailor’s Hat crater on the south coast. In 1965, the U.S. Navy detonated 500 tons of TNT here; the blast was so powerful that it cracked the volcanic island’s cap and penetrated the water table. The crater then filled with seawater, creating ponds inhabited by a unique species of subterranean shrimp. Unfortunately, the crater is obscured by cloud cover. Google’s current satellite imagerybut can be seen in the image below taken in 2012.

Runihau （sorry) is the westernmost of the eight main islands, located 28 km (15 mi) west of Kauai. It is unique in that it is completely privately owned. Francis and Elizabeth Sinclair purchased the island from the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1863 for $10,000 and it remains in the family’s hands today. In 1915, the owners began restricting access to Niihau to preserve the cultural traditions of the Hawaiian people, earning the island its nickname “Forbidden Island”. The crescent-shaped island to the north of Niihau is Lehuaa volcanic tuff cone that is part of the extinct Niihau volcano and was originally formed 4.9 million years ago.

Niihau residents live on HeartPu’uwai’s approximately 130 residents, almost all of them Native Hawaiians, practice subsistence farming, make shell jewelry for income, and live a largely technology-free life. There are no cars, stores, or telephones. All homes and the only school (where students speak only Hawaiian until middle school) are solar powered. The island’s main source of income is A small naval facility Located atop the island cliffs, it is used in conjunction with the missile range on Kauai.

To control the population of wild sheep and boar, Niihau has allowed limited safaris and half-day tours in recent years. Visitors are restricted from entering Puuwe Island and are not allowed to stay overnight. Small Shelter Provide these tourists with the most modern conveniences.