Every Lake
Hawaii
A chain of volcanoes on a hot spot — the oldest islands northwest, the youngest still growing.
Hawaii in relief
The land itself, cut in six steps of birch from the lowlands to the high ground — the cities starred, the summit and rise on the title block. No counties, no roads: just the shape of Hawaii.
About Hawaii
Hawaii is the only state made entirely of islands and the only one still being built. Eight main islands run northwest to southeast across some 1,500 miles of ocean, formed as the Pacific plate drifted over a stationary hot spot — which is why Kauai in the northwest is the most eroded and Hawaii Island in the southeast is the newest, with Kilauea and Mauna Loa still active. Mauna Kea reaches 13,796 feet above the water and far more above its seafloor base. Five counties, one of them, Kalawao on Molokai, among the smallest in the nation.
Hawaii entered on August 21, 1959 as the 50th state, the last admitted and the only one that had been a sovereign kingdom. Honolulu on Oahu has been the seat of government since the monarchy moved there in the 1840s for its deep harbor, and Iolani Palace still stands downtown — the only royal palace on American soil. The board holds the Hana Highway's hairpins on Maui, the Na Pali cliffs on Kauai, and the three interstate highways, H-1, H-2 and H-3, that connect no states at all.
- Six layers of birch — the land in elevation steps
- The summit and total rise on the title block
- The major cities, starred and named
- Title block with the admission date and capital
- A double rule engraved around the edge
- Every county line and the state border
- The interstates with their shields
- The major cities, starred and named
- Title block with the admission date and capital
- A mile ruler engraved around the frame
