Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in the context of "Oʻahu"

The United States of America is a federal republic consisting of 50 states, a federal district (Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States), five major territories, and minor islands. Both the states and the United States as a whole are each sovereign jurisdictions. The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution allows states to exercise all powers of government not delegated to the federal government. Each state has its own constitution and government. All states and their residents are represented in the federal Congress, a bicameral legislature consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each state elects two senators, while representatives are distributed among the states in proportion to the most recent constitutionally mandated decennial census.

Each state is entitled to select a number of electors to vote in the Electoral College, the body that elects the president of the United States, equal to the total of representatives and senators in Congress from that state. The federal district does not have representatives in the Senate, but has a non-voting delegate in the House, and it is entitled to electors in the Electoral College. Congress can admit more states, but it cannot create a new state from territory of an existing state or merge two or more states into one without the consent of all states involved. Each new state is admitted on an equal footing with the existing states.

Hawaii (/hə.ˈwaɪ.i/ hə-WY-ee; Hawaiian: Hawaiʻi [hə.ˈvɐj.ʔi, hə.ˈwɐj.ʔi]) is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, the only state that is an archipelago, the only state in the tropics, and one of the two U.S. states, along with Texas, that were internationally recognized sovereign countries before becoming U.S. states.

Hawaii consists of 137 volcanic islands that make up almost the entire Hawaiian archipelago (the exception is Midway Atoll). Spanning 1,500 miles (2,400 km), 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 last is often called the "Big Island" or "Hawaiʻi 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.

Kure Atoll (/ˈkʊəriː/; Hawaiian: Hōlanikū, lit. 'bringing forth heaven'; Mokupāpapa, 'flat island') or Ocean Island is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean 48 nautical miles (89 km; 55 mi) west-northwest of Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands at 28°25′N 178°20′W / 28.417°N 178.333°W / 28.417; -178.333. A coral ring 6 miles (9.7 km) across encloses a lagoon several meters deep. The atoll's largest island is called Green Island, and is a habitat for hundreds of thousands of seabirds in the present day and wildlife staff. A short, unused, and unmaintained runway and a portion of one building, both from a former United States Coast Guard LORAN station, are located on the island. Politically, it is part of Hawaii, though the nearest island is Midway, which is a separate unorganized territory. Kure Atoll, in addition to being the nesting grounds for tens of thousands of seabirds, has recorded several vagrant terrestrial birds, including snow bunting, eyebrowed thrush, brambling, olive-backed pipit, black kite, Steller's sea eagle and Chinese sparrowhawk. It is currently managed as a Wildlife Bird Sanctuary by the State of Hawaii's Department of Land and Natural Resource—Division of Forestry and Wildlife as one of the co-trustees of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument with support from the Kure Atoll Conservancy. Kure is one of the westernmost islands of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

Kure is seasonally inhabited by small crews of two to eight volunteers and biologists who work to restore and manage the native ecosystem.

This is a list of Hawaiian animal species extinct in the Holocene that covers extinctions from the Holocene epoch, a geologic epoch that began about 11,650 years before present (about 9700 BCE) and continues to the present day.

The Hawaiian Islands include the eight major islands (the Windward Islands) and the small islands and atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. They are all part of the U.S. state of Hawaii, except Midway Atoll, which is a separate U.S. territory.

The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (pronounced [ˈpɐpəˈhaːnɐwˈmokuwaːˈkɛjə]; PMNM) is a World Heritage listed U.S. national monument encompassing 583,000 square miles (1.5 million km) of ocean waters, including ten islands and atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It was first created by President George W. Bush in June 2006 with an initial 140,000 square miles (360,000 km). President Barack Obama expanded the Monument in August 2016, increasing its area more than fourfold by moving its border to the limit of the exclusive economic zone, making it one of the world's largest protected areas.

The Monument is home to more than 7,000 marine species, one quarter of which are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, with some only found in the Monument itself. Only 5.8 square miles (15 km) of land remains above sea level, but it provides critical habitat for many terrestrial species. It also features ancient archaeological sites important to Native Hawaiians. The deeper waters are of interest to maritime historians, as it contains shipwrecks, submerged aircraft, and the remains of those who lost their lives in battles during World War II. As a protected area, the Monument is subject to a commercial fishing ban. President Joe Biden designated the marine areas of the Monument as the Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary in 2025.

Necker Island (Hawaiian: Mokumanamana; lit. 'branched island') is a small uninhabited island in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is located in the Pacific Ocean, 430 miles (370 nmi; 690 km) northwest of Honolulu, Hawaii, 155 miles (135 nmi; 249 km) northwest of Nīhoa, and 8 miles (7 nmi; 13 km) north of the Tropic of Cancer. It is part of the state of Hawaii in the United States. It contains important prehistoric archaeological sites of the Hawaiian culture and is part of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

The United States Census Bureau reports Necker Island's land area as 45.193 acres (18.289 ha). The island is rocky with steep sides and has very little soil. Its highest elevation is 277 feet (84 m). The island is named after Jacques Necker, a finance minister of Louis XVI.