Kaua’i, the Garden Isle is a beautiful island located in the Hawaiian Islands chain out in the Pacific Ocean. On a recent vacation to Kaua’i, I learned many fascinating facts about the island. The most interesting facts about Kaua’i that I found out are within its geography, history, and economy. I have been fascinated by the Hawaiian Islands for years. I have researched the Hawaiian Islands on the internet many times, especially the island of Kaua’i. From history to movies, the island of Kaua’i is one of the most vacationed locations in the world with an exotic geography, history, and economy.

The geography of Kaua’i is unique. The Hawaiian Islands are located in nearly the center of the Pacific between Central America and China. Kaua’i is 2443 miles South West of San Francisco, CA and is 3731 miles South East of Tokyo, Japan. Landforms of the islands are cultivated agricultural land, upland evergreen forest, upland dry scrub and volcanic soil, incised and eroded canyon landscape, grassland and rangeland, bare exposed lava flow, tropical rain forest, high and low intensity urban development. Kaua’i exhibits all of these landforms except bare exposed lava flow. The Island of Kaua'i starts at the ocean floor and is actually taller than the peak of Mt. Everest. Kauai is the fourth largest of the Hawaiian Islands with a land area of 533 square miles. It is 33 miles long and 25 miles across at its widest point. It is the oldest of the major Hawaiian islands, at 5.8 million years old. The island is very mountainous and certain areas cannot be reached by car. It is home of the wettest spot on earth, and also home of Jurassic Falls.

The history of Kaua’i starts way back in time. First inhabited by Polynesian long-distance navigators in 400 A.D. Most of the plant life on the island was brought by the Polynesians. Then the Tahitians discovered the island and overpowered the Polynesians in 1000 A.D. Next is the island’s mid history. The island was later discovered in 1778 by British explorer Captain James Cook. Captain James Cook was the first to introduce the Hawaiian islands to the world. He also nicknamed the island chain the “Sandwich Isles” after Earl of Sandwich who was his superior officer at the time.

Kaua’i’s main economy is tourism. Before tourism Kaua’i’s economy was largely supported by agriculture. Major exports from the island were sugarcane, pineapple, and coffee. In time, Asian countries severely underpriced these crops and took over the market. Today these crops are only grown on Kaua’i for island use. Today most of the islands money is generated from tourism and strangely enough movies. A few of the famous movies filmed on Kaua’i are: Pirates of the Caribbean: On stranger Tides, Avatar, Tropic Thunder, All three Jurassic Park films, Raiders of the Lost Ark, King Kong, Blue Hawaii, and South Pacific. Tourism brings thousands of visitors to the island. Some of the tourist activities are: surfing, helicopter tours, scuba diving, Luaus, zip lining, shopping, and beaches.

I have provided you with details of the island of Kaua’i. Kaua’i’s geography is unique, its history starts way back in time, and the main economy is tourism. There are many fascinating facts about the Garden Isle of Kaua’i located in the Hawaiian Islands chain out in the Pacific Ocean. As you can see Kaua'i is a very interesting place to visit or even live. Between the geography, the history, and the tourism Kaua'i has many unique characteristics about it. The geography gives the island most of its uniqueness. The history is the interesting background of how the island got how it is today. Finally the tourism is what brings money to the island and supports the local populations businesses.