Big Island Real Estate / Hawaii Real Estate

The Big Island of Hawaii is one of eight main islands that make up the U.S. State of Hawaii. It is said to have been named after Hawaiiloa, a legendary Polynesian navigator who first discovered the Hawaiian Islands. However, other accounts attribute the name to the legendary land or realm of Hawaiki, or Havaiki, a place from which the Polynesians originated, the place where they go in the afterlife, the realm of the Gods. The Island of Hawaii is administered under the County of Hawaii. It is estimated that as of the year 2003, the island had a resident population of 158,400 persons.

The Big Island of Hawaii is built from five separate shield volcanoes that erupted somewhat sequentially, one overlapping the other. In greatest dimension, the Island is 93 miles across and has a land area of 4,038 square miles, representing 62% of the total land area of the Hawaiian Islands. Measured from its base at the sea floor, to its highest peak, Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain in the world, even taller than Mount Everest, according to the Guinness Book of Records. Traditionally, Hawaii is known as the Big Island because it is the largest of the Hawaiian Islands and some confusion between Hawaii Island and Hawaii State can be avoided.

Because Mauna Loa and Kilauea are active volcanoes, the Big Island of Hawaii is still growing. Between January 1983 and September 2002, 543 acres of land were added to the island by lava flows from Kilauea volcano extending the coastline seaward.