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96-591: The road extended only slightly beyond the bridge when the Good Friday earthquake of 1964 halted construction and severely damaged the Million Dollar Bridge, collapsing the north span. Temporary repairs were made, and the bridge continued to be used. Permanent repairs were not completed until 2005. The first 12 miles (19 km) of the highway is paved; the rest is gravel. A primitive four-wheel-drive road continues for 10 miles (16 km) beyond

192-509: A Union Jack . An influx of European and American explorers, traders, and whalers soon arrived, leading to the decimation of the once-isolated indigenous community through the introduction of diseases such as syphilis, tuberculosis, smallpox, and measles; the native Hawaiian population declined from between 300,000 and one million to less than 40,000 by 1890. Hawaii became a unified, internationally recognized kingdom in 1810, remaining independent until American and European businessmen overthrew

288-457: A peak ground acceleration estimate of 0.14–0.18 g . The earthquake was assigned a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of X ( Extreme ). Shaking was felt across much of Alaska and parts of western Yukon and British Columbia in Canada. The Alaska earthquake was a subduction zone (megathrust) earthquake, caused by an oceanic plate sinking under a continental plate. The fault responsible

384-610: A temperate climate , to alpine conditions with a cold, dry climate. The rainy climate impacts soil development , which largely determines ground permeability, affecting the distribution of streams and wetlands . Several areas in Hawaiʻi are under the National Park Service 's protection. Hawaii has two national parks: Haleakalā National Park , near Kula on Maui, which features the dormant volcano Haleakalā that formed east Maui; and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park , in

480-546: A Christian monarchy with the signing of the 1840 Constitution . Hiram Bingham I , a prominent Protestant missionary, was a trusted adviser to the monarchy during this period. Other missionaries and their descendants became active in commercial and political affairs, leading to conflicts between the monarchy and its restive American subjects. Missionaries from the Roman Catholic Church and from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were also active in

576-598: A cognate is the name of the underworld or of the ancestral home, but in Hawaii, the name has no meaning". In 1978, Hawaiian was added to the Constitution of the State of Hawaii as an official state language alongside English. The title of the state constitution is The Constitution of the State of Hawaii . Article   XV, Section   1 of the Constitution uses The State of Hawaii . Diacritics were not used because

672-416: A cost of $ 110 million. The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center was formed as a direct response to the disaster. Federal disaster relief funds paid for reconstruction as well as financially supporting the devastated infrastructure of Alaska's government, spending hundreds of millions of dollars that helped keep Alaska financially solvent until the discovery of massive oil deposits at Prudhoe Bay . At

768-510: A depth of approximately 15.5 mi (24.9 km). Ocean floor shifts created large tsunamis (up to 220 feet (67 m) in height), which resulted in many of the deaths and much of the property damage. Large rockslides were also caused, resulting in great property damage. Vertical displacement of up to 38 feet (12 m) occurred, affecting an area of 100,000 square miles (260,000 km ) within Alaska. Studies of ground motion have led to

864-494: A few sailors arrived in 1778 with Cook's journey, and more in 1789 with an American trader who settled in Hawaiʻi in the late 18th century. It is said that Chinese workers introduced leprosy by 1830, and as with the other new infectious diseases, it proved damaging to the Hawaiians. During the 1780s, and 1790s, chiefs often fought for power. After a series of battles that ended in 1795, all inhabited islands were subjugated under

960-649: A half centuries, Spanish galleons crossed the Pacific from Mexico along a route that passed south of Hawaiʻi on their way to Manila . The exact route was kept secret to protect the Spanish trade monopoly against competing powers. Hawaiʻi thus maintained independence, despite being on a sea route east–west between nations that were subjects of the Viceroyalty of New Spain , an empire that exercised jurisdiction over many subject civilizations and kingdoms on both sides of

1056-498: A higher percentage of its endemic species than any other U.S. state. The endemic plant Brighamia now requires hand pollination because its natural pollinator is presumed to be extinct. The two species of Brighamia — B. rockii and B. insignis —are represented in the wild by around 120 individual plants. To ensure that these plants set seed, biologists rappel down 3,000-foot (910 m) cliffs to brush pollen onto their stigmas. The archipelago's extant main islands have been above

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1152-624: A major disaster area the day after the quake. The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard deployed ships to isolated coastal communities to assist with immediate needs. Bad weather and poor visibility hampered air rescue and observation efforts the day after the quake, but on Sunday the 29th the situation improved and rescue helicopters and observation aircraft were deployed. A military airlift immediately began shipping relief supplies to Alaska, eventually delivering 2,570,000 pounds (1,170,000 kg) of food and other supplies. Broadcast journalist Genie Chance assisted in recovery and relief efforts, staying on

1248-820: A massive underwater landslide, resulting in the deaths of 32 people between the collapse of the Valdez city harbor and docks, and inside the ship that was docked there at the time. Nearby, a 27-foot (8.2 m) tsunami destroyed the village of Chenega , killing 23 of the 68 people who lived there. The survivors out-ran the wave, climbing to high ground. Post-quake tsunamis severely affected Whittier , Seward , Kodiak , and other Alaskan communities, as well as people and property in British Columbia , Washington , Oregon , and California . Tsunamis also caused damage in Hawaii and Japan . Evidence of motion directly related to

1344-647: A new constitution to proclaim herself an absolute monarch. On January 14, 1893, a group of mostly Euro-American business leaders and residents formed the Committee of Safety to stage a coup d'état against the kingdom and seek annexation by the United States. U.S. Government Minister John L. Stevens , responding to a request from the Committee of Safety, summoned a company of U.S. Marines. The queen's soldiers did not resist. According to historian William Russ,

1440-491: A report on May 8, 1964, just a little more than a month after the earthquake. The United States military, which has a large active presence in Alaska, also stepped in to assist within moments of the end of the quake. The U.S. Army rapidly re-established communications with the lower 48 states, deployed troops to assist the citizens of Anchorage, and dispatched a convoy to Valdez. On the advice of military and civilian leaders, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared all of Alaska

1536-512: A single ruler, who became known as King Kamehameha the Great . He established the House of Kamehameha , a dynasty that ruled the kingdom until 1872. After Kamehameha II inherited the throne in 1819, American Protestant missionaries to Hawaiʻi converted many Hawaiians to Christianity. Missionaries have argued that one function of missionary work was to "civilize" and "purify" perceived heathenism in

1632-409: Is a unique melting pot of North American and East Asian cultures, in addition to its indigenous Hawaiian heritage. Settled by Polynesians sometime between 1000 and 1200 CE, Hawaii was home to numerous independent chiefdoms. In 1778, British explorer James Cook was the first known non-Polynesian to arrive at the archipelago; early British influence is reflected in the state flag , which bears

1728-443: Is also restricted and anyone who enters without permission will be arrested. This island may also be dangerous since it was a military base during the world wars and could still have unexploded ordnance. The Hawaiian archipelago is 2,000 mi (3,200 km) southwest of the contiguous United States. Hawaii is the southernmost U.S. state and the second westernmost after Alaska . Like Alaska, Hawaii borders no other U.S. state. It

1824-550: Is creating a conflict between economic and environmental health. In 2020, the Center for Biological Diversity reported on the plastic pollution of Hawaii's Kamilo beach, citing "massive piles of plastic waste". Invasive species are spreading, and chemical and pathogenic runoff is contaminating groundwater and coastal waters. Hawaiʻi is one of two U.S. states, along with Texas , that were internationally recognized sovereign nations before becoming U.S. states. The Kingdom of Hawaiʻi

1920-697: Is getting drier and hotter . The warmest temperature recorded in the state, in Pahala on April 27, 1931, is 100 °F (38 °C), tied with Alaska as the lowest record high temperature observed in a U.S. state. Hawaiʻi's record low temperature is 12 °F (−11 °C) observed in May   1979, on the summit of Mauna Kea . Hawaiʻi is the only state to have never recorded subzero Fahrenheit temperatures. Climates vary considerably on each island; they can be divided into windward and leeward ( koʻolau and kona , respectively) areas based upon location relative to

2016-515: Is national defense when what is being destroyed is the very thing the military is entrusted to defend, the sacred land of Hawaiʻi?" Contemporary Indigenous Hawaiians are still protesting the occupation of their homelands and environmental degradation due to increased militarization in the wake of 9/11. After the rise of sugarcane plantations in the mid 19th century, island ecology changed dramatically. Plantations require massive quantities of water, and European and American plantation owners transformed

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2112-607: Is often called the "Big Island" or "Hawaii Island" to avoid confusion with the state or archipelago. The uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands make up most of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument , the largest protected area in the U.S. and the fourth-largest in the world. Of the 50 U.S. states , Hawaii is the eighth-smallest in land area and the 11th-least populous ; but with 1.4 million residents, it ranks 13th in population density . Two-thirds of Hawaii residents live on O'ahu, home to

2208-634: Is preserved in the names of some locations in the US state of Idaho , for example. Spanish explorers may have arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in the 16th century, 200 years before Cook's first documented visit in 1778. Ruy López de Villalobos commanded a fleet of six ships that left Acapulco in 1542 bound for the Philippines, with a Spanish sailor named Juan Gaetano aboard as pilot. Gaetano's reports describe an encounter with either Hawaiʻi or

2304-518: Is the only U.S. state not in North America, and the only one completely surrounded by water and entirely an archipelago. In addition to the eight main islands, the state has many smaller islands and islets. Kaʻula is a small island near Niʻihau. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands is a group of nine small, older islands northwest of Kauaʻi that extends from Nihoa to Kure Atoll ; these are remnants of once much larger volcanic mountains. Across

2400-495: The kapu system, the prevailing legal system before European contact, and heiau , or "temples" to religious figures. Kapu , which typically translates to "the sacred", refers to social regulations (like gender and class restrictions) that were based upon spiritual beliefs. Under the missionaries' guidance, laws against gambling, consuming alcohol, dancing the hula , breaking the Sabbath, and polygamy were enacted. Without

2496-560: The Great Alaskan earthquake and Good Friday earthquake , occurred at 5:36 PM AKST on Good Friday , March 27, 1964. Across south-central Alaska , ground fissures, collapsing structures, and tsunamis resulting from the earthquake caused about 131 deaths. Lasting four minutes and thirty-eight seconds, the magnitude 9.2–9.3 megathrust earthquake remains the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in North America , and

2592-626: The Hawaiʻi hotspot . The process is continuing to build islands; the tectonic plate beneath much of the Pacific Ocean continually moves northwest and the hotspot remains stationary, slowly creating new volcanoes. Because of the hotspot's location, all active land volcanoes are on the southern half of Hawaiʻi Island. The newest volcano, Kamaʻehuakanaloa (formerly Lōʻihi), is south of the coast of Hawaiʻi Island. The last volcanic eruption outside Hawaiʻi Island occurred at Haleakalā on Maui before

2688-541: The KENI air waves over Anchorage for more than 24 continuous hours as the voice of calm from her temporary post within the Anchorage Public Safety Building. She was effectively designated as the public safety officer by the city's police chief. Chance provided breaking news of the catastrophic events that continued to develop following the magnitude 9.2 earthquake, and she served as the voice of

2784-578: The Marshall Islands . Most scholars have dismissed these claims due to a lack of credibility. Nonetheless, Spanish archives contain a chart that depicts islands at the same latitude as Hawaiʻi, but with a longitude ten degrees east of the islands. In this manuscript, Maui is named La Desgraciada (The Unfortunate Island), and what appears to be Hawaiʻi Island is named La Mesa (The Table). Islands resembling Kahoʻolawe' , Lānaʻi , and Molokaʻi are named Los Monjes (The Monks). For two and

2880-524: The Seal of Hawaii use the spelling without symbols for glottal stops or vowel length. There are eight main Hawaiian islands. Seven are inhabited, but only six are open to tourists and locals. Niʻihau is privately managed by brothers Bruce and Keith Robinson ; access is restricted to those who have their permission. This island is also home to native Hawaiians. Access to uninhabited Kahoʻolawe island

2976-643: The Ship Creek valley near the Alaska Railroad yards also slid, destroying many acres of buildings and city blocks in downtown Anchorage. Most other areas of the city were only moderately damaged. The 60-foot (18 m) concrete control tower at Anchorage International Airport was not engineered to withstand earthquake activity and collapsed, killing William George Taylor, the Federal Aviation Agency air traffic controller on duty in

Copper River Highway - Misplaced Pages Continue

3072-652: The Turnagain Arm , were destroyed by subsidence and subsequent tidal action. Girdwood was relocated inland and Portage was abandoned. About 20 miles (32 km) of the Seward Highway sank below the high-water mark of Turnagain Arm; the highway and its bridges were raised and rebuilt in 1964–66. Most coastal towns in the Prince William Sound, Kenai Peninsula , and Kodiak Island areas, especially

3168-622: The ballistic missile detection radar of Clear Air Force Station to go offline for six minutes, the only unscheduled interruption in its operational history. Near Cordova , the Million Dollar Bridge crossing the Copper River also suffered damage, with Span #4 slipping off its pylon and collapsing. The community of Girdwood was also confined to the southern side of the Seward Highway when water rushed into Turnagain Arm and flooded or destroyed any buildings left standing to

3264-586: The chiefdoms , which grew to encompass whole islands. Local chiefs, called aliʻi , ruled their settlements, and launched wars to extend their influence and defend their communities from predatory rivals. Ancient Hawaiʻi was a caste -based society, much like that of Hindus in India. Population growth was facilitated by ecological and agricultural practices that combined upland agriculture ( manuka ), ocean fishing ( makai ), fishponds and gardening systems. These systems were upheld by spiritual and religious beliefs, like

3360-461: The kapu system, many temples and priestly statuses were jeopardized, idols were burned, and participation in Christianity increased. When Kamehameha III inherited the throne at age 12, his advisors pressured him to merge Christianity with traditional Hawaiian ways. Under the guidance of his kuhina nui (his mother and coregent Elizabeth Kaʻahumanu ) and British allies, Hawaiʻi turned into

3456-464: The kapu system, the practice of human sacrifice, and the building of heiau . This later immigration is detailed in Hawaiian mythology ( moʻolelo ) about Paʻao . Other authors say there is no archaeological or linguistic evidence of a later influx of Tahitian settlers and that Paʻao must be regarded as a myth. The islands' history is marked by a slow, steady growth in population and the size of

3552-424: The lava flows and the sulfur dioxide fumes, necessitated the evacuation of more than 2,000 inhabitants from their neighborhoods. The islands of Hawaiʻi are distant from other land habitats, and life is thought to have arrived there by wind, waves (i.e., by ocean currents), and wings (i.e., birds, insects, and any seeds that they may have carried on their feathers). Hawaiʻi has more endangered species and has lost

3648-594: The lokahi , that linked cultural continuity with the health of the natural world. According to Hawaiian scholar Mililani Trask , the lokahi symbolizes the "greatest of the traditions, values, and practices of our people ... There are three points in the triangle—the Creator, Akua ; the peoples of the earth, Kanaka Maoli ; and the land, the ʻaina . These three things all have a reciprocal relationship." In January 1778, British Captain James Cook encountered

3744-651: The second most powerful earthquake ever recorded in the world since modern seismography began in 1900. Six hundred miles (970 km) of fault ruptured at once and moved up to 60 ft (18 m), releasing about 500 years of stress buildup. Soil liquefaction , fissures, landslides, and other ground failures caused major structural damage in several communities and much damage to property. Anchorage sustained great destruction or damage to many inadequately earthquake-engineered houses, buildings, and infrastructure (paved streets, sidewalks, water and sewer mains, electrical systems, and other man-made equipment), particularly in

3840-474: The Hawaiian Islands serendipitously while crossing the Pacific during his third voyage of exploration . This marked the first documented contact by a European explorer with Hawaiʻi. Cook named the archipelago "the Sandwich Islands" in honor of his sponsor John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich . The native name of the islands was originally rendered and published as " Owyhee" or "Owhyhee" , a form which

3936-563: The National Park Service's control include Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail on Hawaiʻi Island and the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor on Oʻahu. President George W. Bush proclaimed the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument on June 15, 2006. The monument covers roughly 140,000 square miles (360,000 km ) of reefs, atolls, and shallow and deep sea out to 50 miles (80 km) offshore in

Copper River Highway - Misplaced Pages Continue

4032-479: The New World. This carried into Hawaiʻi. According to historical archaeologist James L. Flexner, "missionaries provided the moral means to rationalize conquest and wholesale conversion to Christianity". But rather than abandon traditional beliefs entirely, most native Hawaiians merged their Indigenous religion with Christianity. Missionaries used their influence to end many traditional practices, including

4128-570: The Pacific Ocean—an area larger than all the national parks in the U.S. combined. Hawaiʻi has a tropical climate . Temperatures and humidity tend to be less extreme because of near-constant trade winds from the east. Summer highs reach around 88 °F (31 °C) during the day, with lows of 75 °F (24 °C) at night. Winter day temperatures are usually around 83 °F (28 °C); at low elevation they seldom dip below 65 °F (18 °C) at night. Snow, not usually associated with

4224-657: The Pacific. Despite such contested claims, Cook is generally considered the first European to land at Hawaiʻi, having visited the Hawaiian Islands twice. As he prepared for departure after his second visit in 1779, a quarrel ensued as he took temple idols and fencing as "firewood", and a minor chief and his group stole a boat from his ship. Cook abducted the King of Hawaiʻi Island , Kalaniʻōpuʻu , and held him for ransom aboard his ship to gain return of Cook's boat, as this tactic had previously worked in Tahiti and other islands. Instead,

4320-485: The U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states (alongside Alaska ), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, the only state that is an archipelago , and the only state in the tropics . Hawaii consists of 137 volcanic islands that comprise almost the entire Hawaiian archipelago (the exception, which is outside the state, is Midway Atoll ). Spanning 1,500 miles (2,400 km),

4416-564: The archipelago are around 130 small rocks and islets, such as Molokini , which are made up of either volcanic or marine sedimentary rock. Hawaiʻi's tallest mountain Mauna Kea is 13,796 ft (4,205 m) above mean sea level; it is taller than Mount Everest if measured from the base of the mountain, which lies on the floor of the Pacific Ocean and rises about 33,500 feet (10,200 m). The Hawaiian islands were formed by volcanic activity initiated at an undersea magma source called

4512-420: The authority which I claim as the constitutional sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands. The treason trials of 1892 brought together the main players in the 1893 overthrow. American Minister John L. Stevens voiced support for Native Hawaiian revolutionaries; William R. Castle, a Committee of Safety member, served as a defense counsel in the treason trials; Alfred Stedman Hartwell, the 1893 annexation commissioner, led

4608-531: The city built on sandy bluffs overlying " Bootlegger Cove clay " near Cook Inlet , most notably the Turnagain neighborhood, suffered landslide damage. The neighborhood lost 75 houses in the landslide, and the destroyed area has since been turned into Earthquake Park . The Government Hill school suffered from the Government Hill landslide, leaving it in two jagged, broken pieces. Land overlooking

4704-581: The damage done by the earthquake to the city. The team, called the Engineering and Geological Evaluation Group, was headed by Dr. Ruth A. M. Schmidt , a geology professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage . The team of scientists came into conflict with local developers and downtown business owners who wanted to immediately rebuild; the scientists wanted to identify future dangers to ensure that rebuilt infrastructure would be safe. The team produced

4800-556: The defense effort; and Sanford B. Dole ruled as a supreme court justice against acts of conspiracy and treason. On January 17, 1893, a small group of sugar and pineapple-growing businessmen, aided by the American minister to Hawaii and backed by heavily armed U.S. soldiers and marines, deposed Queen Liliʻuokalani and installed a provisional government composed of members of the Committee of Safety. According to scholar Lydia Kualapai and Hawaii State Representative Roy Takumi, this committee

4896-483: The document, drafted in 1949, predates the use of the ʻokina ⟨ʻ⟩ and the kahakō in modern Hawaiian orthography. The exact spelling of the state's name in the Hawaiian language is Hawaiʻi . In the Hawaii Admission Act that granted Hawaiian statehood, the federal government used Hawaii as the state name. Official government publications, department and office titles, and

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4992-426: The early 21st century as Roman Catholic saints . The death of the bachelor King Kamehameha V —who did not name an heir—resulted in the popular election of Lunalilo over Kalākaua . Lunalilo died the next year, also without naming an heir. In 1874, the election was contested within the legislature between Kalākaua and Emma, Queen Consort of Kamehameha IV . After riots broke out, the U.S. and Britain landed troops on

5088-517: The earthquake was also reported from Florida and Texas . On March 27, 1964, at 5:36 p.m. AKST (March 28, at 3:36 a.m. UTC ), a fault between the Pacific and North American plates ruptured near College Fjord in Prince William Sound. The epicenter of the earthquake was 12.4 mi (20.0 km) north of Prince William Sound , 78 miles (126 km) east of Anchorage and 40 miles (64 km) west of Valdez. The focus occurred at

5184-522: The earthquake. The tsunami then reached Tofino , on the exposed west coast of Vancouver Island , and traveled up a fjord to hit Port Alberni twice, washing away 55 homes and damaging 375 others. The towns of Hot Springs Cove , Zeballos , and Amai also saw damage. The damage in British Columbia was estimated at CA$ 10 million ($ 96 million in 2023 Canadian dollars or $ 91 million in 2023 US dollars). Twelve people were killed by

5280-608: The end of the highway to the Allen River. The highway past mile 36 has been de facto abandoned since 2011 due to erosion of the approach to Bridge 339. The Copper River Highway begins at the Alaska Marine Highway ferry terminal in Cordova. From there, the highway proceeds through central Cordova, intersecting several small roads and passing residential and commercial buildings. The road exits Cordova, and passes

5376-491: The higher mountains. Windward sides face cloud cover. Hawaii has a decades-long history of hosting more military space for the United States than any other territory or state. This record of military activity has taken a sharp toll on the environmental health of the Hawaiian archipelago, degrading its beaches and soil, and making some places entirely unsafe due to unexploded ordnance . According to scholar Winona LaDuke : "The vast militarization of Hawaii has profoundly damaged

5472-419: The highest costs of living in the U.S. However, Hawaii is the third-wealthiest state, and residents have the longest life expectancy of any U.S. state, at 80.7 years. The State of Hawaii derives its name from the name of its largest island, Hawaiʻi . A common explanation of the name of Hawaiʻi is that it was named for Hawaiʻiloa , a figure from Hawaiian oral tradition. He is said to have discovered

5568-518: The islands to restore order. The Legislative Assembly chose King Kalākaua as monarch by a vote of 39 to   6 on February 12, 1874. In 1887, Kalākaua was forced to sign the 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi . Drafted by white businessmen and lawyers, the document stripped the king of much of his authority. It established a property qualification for voting that effectively disenfranchised most Hawaiians and immigrant laborers and favored

5664-483: The islands when they were first settled. The Hawaiian language word Hawaiʻi is very similar to Proto-Polynesian Sawaiki , with the reconstructed meaning "homeland." Cognates of Hawaiʻi are found in other Polynesian languages, including Māori ( Hawaiki ), Rarotongan ( ʻAvaiki ) and Samoan ( Savaiʻi ). According to linguists Pukui and Elbert, "elsewhere in Polynesia, Hawaiʻi or

5760-510: The kingdom, initially converting a minority of the Native Hawaiian population, but later becoming the first and second largest religious denominations on the islands, respectively. Missionaries from each major group administered to the leper colony at Kalaupapa on Molokaʻi, which was established in 1866 and operated well into the 20th century. The best known were Father Damien and Mother Marianne Cope , both of whom were canonized in

5856-412: The land in order to access it, primarily by building tunnels to divert water from the mountains to the plantations, constructing reservoirs, and digging wells. These changes have made lasting impacts on the land and continue to contribute to resource scarcity for Native Hawaiians today. According to Stanford scientist and scholar Sibyl Diver, Indigenous Hawaiians engage in a reciprocal relationship with

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5952-409: The land, "based on principles of mutual caretaking, reciprocity and sharing". This relationship ensures the longevity, sustainability, and natural cycles of growth and decay, as well as cultivating a sense of respect for the land and humility towards one's place in an ecosystem. The tourism industry's ongoing expansion and its pressure on local systems of ecology, cultural tradition and infrastructure

6048-585: The land. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, there are more federal hazardous waste sites in Hawaii – 31 – than in any other U.S. state." Hawaii State Representative Roy Takumi writes in "Challenging U.S. Militarism in Hawai'i and Okinawa" that these military bases and hazardous waste sites have meant "the confiscation of large tracts of land from native peoples" and quotes late Hawaiian activist George Helm as asking: "What

6144-700: The large Eyak Lake , proceeding to the Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport . The highway then turns to a gravel road and proceeds east and then northeast through both Eyak Corporation land and the Chugach National Forest ; however, after passing over several sloughs, the highway now stops after approximately 35 miles due to Bridge 339 having been washed out in 2011 The entire route is in Valdez-Cordova Borough . Good Friday earthquake The 1964 Alaskan earthquake , also known as

6240-429: The late 18th   century, possibly hundreds of years earlier. In 1790, Kīlauea exploded ; it is the deadliest eruption known to have occurred in the modern era in what is now the United States. Up to 5,405 warriors and their families marching on Kīlauea were killed by the eruption. Volcanic activity and subsequent erosion have created impressive geological features. Hawaii Island has the second-highest point among

6336-453: The major ports of Seward , Whittier and Kodiak were heavily damaged by a combination of seismic activity, subsidence , post-quake tsunamis and/or earthquake-caused fires . Valdez with 32 dead was not totally destroyed, but after three years, the town relocated to higher ground four miles (6.4 km) west of its original site. Some Alaska Native villages, including Chenega and Afognak , were destroyed or damaged. The earthquake caused

6432-495: The majority of the tsunami damage. Tsunami waves were noted in over 20 countries, including Peru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Japan, Mexico, and in the continent of Antarctica . The largest tsunami wave was recorded in Shoup Bay , Alaska, with a height of about 220 ft (67 m). As a result of the earthquake, 131 people are believed to have died: Nine died as a result of the earthquake itself and another 122 died from

6528-413: The monarchy in 1893; this led to annexation by the U.S. in 1898. As a strategically valuable U.S. territory , Hawaii was attacked by Japan on December 7, 1941, which brought it global and historical significance, and contributed to America's entry into World War II. Hawaii is the most recent state to join the union , on August 21, 1959. In 1993, the U.S. government formally apologized for its role in

6624-404: The monarchy was unable to protect itself. In Hawaiian Autonomy , Liliʻuokalani states: If we did not by force resist their final outrage, it was because we could not do so without striking at the military force of the United States. Whatever constraint the executive of this great country may be under to recognize the present government at Honolulu has been forced upon it by no act of ours, but by

6720-410: The natural world, resulting in widespread biodiversity and intricate social and environmental relationships that persist to this day. On a single island, the climate around the coasts can range from dry tropical (less than 20 inches or 510 millimeters annual rainfall) to wet tropical; on the slopes, environments range from tropical rainforest (more than 200 inches or 5,100 millimeters per year), through

6816-473: The north of the highway. Only the ground immediately along the highway and that on the north side of the road dropped, prompting geologists to speculate that Girdwood may rest upon an ancient cliff face covered by thousands of years of sediment and glacial deposits. A 4.5 ft (1.4 m) wave reached Prince Rupert, British Columbia , just south of the Alaska Panhandle , about three hours after

6912-471: The once-isolated islands, causing the Hawaiian population to drop precipitously. Native Hawaiians had no resistance to Eurasian diseases, such as influenza , smallpox and measles . By 1820, disease, famine and wars between the chiefs killed more than half of the Native Hawaiian population. During the 1850s, measles killed a fifth of Hawaiʻi's people. Historical records indicate the earliest Chinese immigrants to Hawaiʻi originated from Guangdong Province ;

7008-687: The order of the U.S. Defense Department , the Alaska National Guard founded the Alaska Division of Emergency Services to respond to any future disasters. Hawaii Hawaii ( / h ə ˈ w aɪ . i / hə- WY -ee ; Hawaiian : Hawaiʻi [həˈvɐjʔi, həˈwɐjʔi] ) is an island state of the United States , in the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) southwest of

7104-444: The overthrow of Hawaii's government, which had spurred the Hawaiian sovereignty movement and has led to ongoing efforts to obtain redress for the indigenous population. Historically dominated by a plantation economy , Hawaii remains a major agricultural exporter due to its fertile soil and uniquely tropical climate in the U.S. Its economy has gradually diversified since the mid-20th century, with tourism and military defense becoming

7200-458: The public safety office, coordinating response efforts, connecting available resources to needs around the community, disseminating information about shelters and prepared food rations, passing messages of well-being between loved ones, and helping to reunite families. In the longer term, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers led the effort to rebuild roads, clear debris, and establish new townsites for communities that had been completely destroyed, at

7296-549: The region for more than a year. Alaska had never experienced a major disaster in a highly populated area before, and had very limited resources for dealing with the effects of such an event. In Anchorage, at the urging of geologist Lidia Selkregg , the City of Anchorage and the Alaska State Housing Authority appointed a team of 40 scientists, including geologists, soil scientists, and engineers, to assess

7392-506: The several landslide zones along Knik Arm . Two hundred miles (320 km) southwest, some areas near Kodiak were permanently raised by 30 feet (9 m). Southeast of Anchorage, areas around the head of Turnagain Arm near Girdwood and Portage dropped as much as 8 feet (2.4 m), requiring reconstruction and fill to raise the Seward Highway above the new high tide mark. In Prince William Sound , Port Valdez suffered

7488-570: The southeast region of Hawaiʻi Island, which includes the active volcano Kīlauea and its rift zones. There are three national historical parks : Kalaupapa National Historical Park in Kalaupapa, Molokaʻi, the site of a former leper colony; Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park in Kailua-Kona on Hawaiʻi Island; and Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park , an ancient place of refuge on Hawaiʻi Island's west coast. Other areas under

7584-462: The state is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania . Hawaii's ocean coastline is consequently the fourth-longest in the U.S. , at about 750 miles (1,210 km). The eight main islands, from northwest to southeast, are Niʻihau , Kauaʻi , Oʻahu , Molokaʻi , Lānaʻi , Kahoʻolawe , Maui , and Hawaiʻi , after which the state is named; the latter

7680-405: The state's capital and largest city, Honolulu . Hawaii is among the country's most demographically diverse states, owing to its central location in the Pacific and over two centuries of migration. As one of only seven majority-minority states , it has the only Asian American plurality, the largest Buddhist community , and largest proportion of multiracial people in the U.S. Consequently, Hawaii

7776-591: The subsequent tsunamis all over the world. Five died from the tsunami in Oregon , and 12 died from the tsunami in Crescent City , California . Property damage was estimated at $ 116 million ($ 0.87 billion in 2023 dollars). Most damage occurred in Anchorage, 75 mi (121 km) northwest of the epicenter. Anchorage was not hit by tsunamis, but downtown Anchorage was heavily damaged, and parts of

7872-462: The supporters of Kalaniʻōpuʻu attacked, killing Cook and four sailors as Cook's party retreated along the beach to their ship. The ship departed without retrieving the stolen boat. After Cook's visit and the publication of several books relating his voyages, the Hawaiian Islands attracted many European and American explorers, traders, and whalers, who found the islands to be a convenient harbor and source of supplies. These visitors introduced diseases to

7968-477: The surface of the ocean for less than 10   million years, a fraction of the time biological colonization and evolution have occurred there. The islands are well known for the environmental diversity that occurs on high mountains within a trade winds field. Native Hawaiians developed complex horticultural practices to utilize the surrounding ecosystem for agriculture. Cultural practices developed to enshrine values of environmental stewardship and reciprocity with

8064-438: The tower cab at the time the earthquake began. One house on W. 10th Avenue suffered peripheral damage, but only one block away the recently completed (and still unoccupied) Four Seasons Building on Ninth Avenue collapsed completely, with the concrete elevator shafts sticking up out of the rubble like a seesaw. The hamlets of Girdwood and Portage , located 30 and 40 mi (48 and 64 km) southeast of central Anchorage on

8160-452: The tropics, falls at 13,800 feet (4,200 m) on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on Hawaii Island in some winter months. Snow rarely falls on Haleakalā. Mount Waiʻaleʻale on Kauaʻi has the second-highest average annual rainfall on Earth, about 460 inches (12,000 mm) per year. Most of Hawaii experiences only two seasons; the dry season runs from May to October and the wet season is from October to April. Overall with climate change , Hawaiʻi

8256-527: The tsunami in or near Crescent City, California , while four children were killed on the Oregon coast at Beverly Beach State Park . Other coastal towns in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and Hawaii were damaged. Minor damage to boats occurred as far south as Los Angeles. Effects of the earthquake were even noted as far east as Freeport, Texas , where tide gauges recorded waves similar to seismic surface waves . Seiches were detected in wells in countries around

8352-618: The two largest sectors. The state attracts visitors, surfers, and scientists with its diverse natural scenery, warm tropical climate, abundant public beaches, oceanic surroundings, active volcanoes, and clear skies on the Big Island. Hawaii hosts the United States Pacific Fleet , the world's largest naval command, as well as 75,000 employees of the Defense Department. Hawaii's isolation results in one of

8448-501: The unlawful acts of its own agents. Attempts to repudiate those acts are vain. In a message to Sanford B. Dole, Liliʻuokalani states: Now to avoid any collision of armed forces and perhaps the loss of life, I do under this protest, and impelled by said force, yield my authority until such time as the Government of the United States shall, upon the facts being presented to it, undo the action of its representatives and reinstate me in

8544-476: The wealthier, white elite. Resident whites were allowed to vote but resident Asians were not. As the 1887 Constitution was signed under threat of violence, it is known as the Bayonet Constitution. King Kalākaua, reduced to a figurehead, reigned until his death in 1891. His sister, Queen Liliʻuokalani , succeeded him; she was the last monarch of Hawaiʻi. In 1893, Liliʻuokalani announced plans for

8640-499: The world's islands. On the volcanoes' flanks, slope instability has generated damaging earthquakes and related tsunamis , particularly in 1868 and 1975 . Catastrophic debris avalanches on the ocean island volcanoes' submerged flanks have created steep cliffs. Kīlauea erupted in May 2018, opening 22 fissure vents on its eastern rift zone . The Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens are within this territory. The eruption destroyed at least 36 buildings and this, coupled with

8736-399: The world, including England, Namibia, and Australia. There were hundreds of aftershocks in the first weeks following the main shock. In the first day alone, eleven major aftershocks were recorded with a magnitude greater than 6.0. Nine more struck over the next three weeks. In all, thousands of aftershocks occurred in the months following the quake, and smaller aftershocks continued to strike

8832-497: Was formed against the will of Indigenous Hawaiian voters, who constituted the majority of voters at the time, and consisted of "thirteen white men" according to scholar J Kehaulani Kauanui. The United States Minister to the Kingdom of Hawaii ( John L. Stevens ) conspired with U.S. citizens to overthrow the monarchy. After the overthrow, Sanford B. Dole , a citizen of Hawaii and cousin to James Dole, owner of Hawaiian Fruit Company,

8928-575: Was observed for 285,000 km (110,000 sq mi) from north and west of the sound, in Chugach Mountains, most of Kenai Peninsula, and almost all the Kodiak Island group. Two types of tsunami were produced by this subduction zone earthquake. There was a tectonic tsunami produced in addition to about 20 smaller and local tsunamis. These smaller tsunamis were produced by submarine and subaerial landslides and were responsible for

9024-481: Was probably by Polynesian settlers from the Marquesas Islands , and a second wave of migration from Raiatea and Bora Bora took place in the 11th century. The date of the human discovery and habitation of the Hawaiian Islands is the subject of academic debate. Some archaeologists and historians think it was a later wave of immigrants from Tahiti around 1000 CE who introduced a new line of high chiefs,

9120-437: Was sovereign from 1810 until 1893, when resident American and European capitalists and landholders overthrew the monarchy . Hawaiʻi was an independent republic from 1894 until August 12, 1898, when it officially became a U.S. territory. Hawaiʻi was admitted as a U.S. state on August 21, 1959. Based on archaeological evidence, the earliest habitation of the Hawaiian Islands appears to date between 1000 and 1200 CE. The first wave

9216-661: Was the Aleutian Megathrust , a reverse fault caused by a compressional force. This caused much of the uneven ground which is the result of ground shifted to the opposite elevation. Uplift occurred across 520,000 km (200,000 sq mi) from southern Kodiak to Prince William Sound and further east of the sound. The maximum uplift was in Montague Island, where the ground was raised 13–15 m (43–49 ft) relative to sea level. The uplift also affected Kodiak, Sitkalidak, and Sitkinak islands. Subsidence

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