how many islands are in the hawaiian chain
Hawaiian Islands The state of Hawaii counts 137 "islands" in the Hawaiian chain.[17] This number includes all minor islands and islets, or very small island, offshore of the main islands (listed above) and individual islets in each atoll. These are just a few:
Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands (Hawaiian: Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) from the island of Hawaiʻi in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll. Formerly the group was known to Europeans and Americans as the "Sandwich Islands", a name chosen by James Cook in honor of the then First Lord of the Admiralty John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. The contemporary name is derived from the name of the largest island, Hawaii Island.
Hawaiian Islands Hawaiʻi island (the Big Island) is the biggest and youngest island in the chain, built from five volcanoes. Mauna Loa, taking up over half of the Big Island, is the largest shield volcano on the Earth. The measurement from sea level to summit is more than 2.5 miles (4 km), from sea level to sea floor about 3.1 miles (5 km).[21]
Hawaii (island) The island is often referred to as the Island of Hawaiʻi,[4] the Big Island, the Big I, or Hawaiʻi Island to distinguish it from the state. Administratively, the whole island encompasses Hawaiʻi County.