Getting to know Oahu

Home to world famous Waikiki Beach

From ancient stone heiau (temples) to 21st-Century high-rises, Oahu is an island of endless contrasts. Geographically only the third largest of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands, it is nonetheless home to nearly three-quarters of the state's 1.2 million residents — 370,000 of whom are concentrated in urban Honolulu, the ultra-modern, south-coast cityscape kama'aina (residents) refer to simply as "Town."

But take a 45-minute drive to "Country" — the famed surfing Mecca on the island's north shore — and you'll find sleepy Hale'iwa Town (pop. 2,225) existing much as it has since it was established by missionaries in 1832.

Geography
Like the other islands, islets and shoals that make up the 1,600-mile Hawaiian Island chain, Oahu is believed to be the product of a single "hot spot" in the earth's mantle. Over the course of millions of years, the earth's crust drifted to the northwest across this hot spot, giving rise to each island. The bulk of Oahu was created nearly four million years ago, by two now-extinct shield volcanoes — the remains of which are today visible as the Ko'olau and Wai'anae mountain ranges, running parallel to each other along the length of the island's eastern and western coasts, respectively. As with the rest of the Hawaiian Islands, these mountain ranges separate the wetter windward shore from the drier leeward side, forcing rain clouds blown in off the ocean to leave their water on the east side of the island before gaining passage to the west.

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