The State Flag has eight stripes (representing the eight major islands),
of white, red and blue; the field closely resembles the Union Jack of Great Britain,
from which the original flag apparently was designed.

The State of Hawaii is comprised of eight major islands.

Measuring from its submarine base (3,280 fathoms) in the Hawaiian Trough to the top of the mountain (13,796 feet), Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain in the world with a combined height of 33,476 feet.

Historical Information

It is generally believed that Hawaii was discovered and populated by Polynesians in voyaging canoes sometime in the first millennium, A.D. It was a kingdom until 1775, when it was discovered by Captain James Cook and renamed the "Sandwich Islands" after the Earl of Sandwich; however as early as 1818, King Kamehameha I is reported to have protested, saying that each island should be called by its own name, and the entire group referred to as the "Islands of the Kingdom of Hawaii".

The islands were officially granted their independence (after a brief usurpation) from Great Britain in 1843, and remained a sovereign kingdom until 1893, when the monarchy was overthrown by a group of American businessmen. Hawaii's last queen was Queen Liliuokalani, who wrote the now famous, Aloha ‘Oe.

Hawaii officially became the 50th state in the American Union on August 21, 1959.

	The State Flower The state flower is the yellow Hibiscus Brackenridgei.
	The State Tree A Polynesian introduced plant species. the kukui, better known as the candlenut. The nuts of this tree provided the ancient Hawaiians with light, oil, relishes, and medicine.
	The State Bird: The Nene (pronounced "nay-nay") is a land bird and a variety of goose. It has adapted itself to life in the harsh lava country by transforming its webbed feet into a claw-like shape and modifying its wing structure for shorter flights. Hunting and wild animals all but destroyed the species until they were protected by law and a restoration project established in 1949.
	The State Marine Mammal: The Humpback Whale, an annual visitor to Hawaiian waters and so designated in 1979.
	The unofficial State Fish: The Humuhumunukunukuapua`a is a Hawaiian Triggerfish, so named because of its triggerlike dorsal fins.

-- Information & images on this page taken from the HVCB website.