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Hawaii (Hawaiian: Hawaiʻi) became the 50th state of the United States on August 21, 1959. It is situated in the North Pacific Ocean, 2,300 miles (3,700 km) from the mainland, at 21°18′41″N,157°47′47″W. In the 19th Century, Hawaii was also known as the Sandwich Islands.

An archipelago in the mid-Pacific and, thus, commonly included in Oceania, Hawaiʻi is the southernmost state of the United States; it would be the westernmost, if not for Alaska. It is one of the only two states (Alaska is the other) that are outside the contiguous United States, and do not share a border with another U.S. state. Hawaii is the only state that (1) is without territory on the mainland of any continent; (2) is completely surrounded by water; and (3) continues to grow in area because of active extrusive lava flows, most notably from Kilauea .

Except for Easter Island, Hawaii is farther away from land than any other landmass on Earth. Hawaii's tallest mountain, stands over 13,000 feet (4,000 meters) and is taller than Mount Everest if followed to its base at the floor of the Pacific Ocean.

The Hawaiian Archipelago comprises eight islands and atolls extending across a distance of 1,500 miles (2,400 km). Of these, eight high islands are considered the "main islands" and are located at the southeastern end of the archipelago. These islands are, in order from the northwest to southeast, Niihau (Niʻihau), Kauai (Kauaʻi), Oahu (Oʻahu), Molokai (Molokaʻi), Lanai (Lānaʻi), Kahoolawe (Kahoʻolawe), Maui (Māui), and Hawaii (Hawaiʻi). The latter is by far the largest, and is very often called the "Big Island" or "Big Isle". The use of that alternative name is often motivated by a desire to avoid ambiguity with "Hawaiʻi" meaning the entire state (all of the islands), as opposed to only that one island.

All of the Hawaiian Islands were formed by volcanoes arising from the sea floor from a magma source described in geological theory as a hotspot. The theory maintains that as the tectonic plate beneath much of the Pacific Ocean moves in a northwesterly direction, the hot spot remains stationary, slowly creating new volcanoes. This explains why only volcanoes on the southern half of the Big Island are presently active.

The last volcanic eruption outside the Big Island happened at Haleakala (Haleakalā) on Maui in the late 18th century (though recent research suggests that Haleakalā's most recent eruptive activity could be hundreds of years older. The newest volcano to form is Loihi Seamount (Lōʻihi), deep below the waters off the southern coast of the Big Island.

The volcanic activity and subsequent erosion created impressive geological features. The Big Island is notable as the world's fifth highest island. If the height of the island is measured from its base, deep in the ocean, to its snow-clad peak on Mauna Kea, it can be considered one of the tallest mountains on the Earth

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