Hawaii is the 50th and most recent U.S. state to join the United States, having gained admission to the United States on August 21, 1959. Hawaii is the only U.S. state located in Oceania and the only one made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean.
Hawaii's diverse natural scenery, warm tropical climate, abundance of public beaches, oceanic surroundings, and active volcanoes make it a popular destination for tourists, surfers, biologists, and volcanologists alike. Due to its central location in the Pacific as well as labor migration in the 19th century, Hawaii is strongly influenced by North American and Asian cultures in addition to its own indigenous Hawaiian culture. Hawaii has over a million permanent residents, along with many visitors and U.S. military personnel. Its capital is Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu.
The state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian archipelago, which comprises hundreds of islands spread over 1,500 miles (2,400 km). At the southeastern end of the archipelago, the eight main islands are—in order from northwest to southeast: Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui and the Island of Hawaiʻi. The last is the largest and is often called the "Big Island" or "Hawaiʻi Island" to avoid confusing the island with the state or archipelago. The archipelago is physiographically and ethnologically[clarification needed] part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania.
Hawaii is the 8th-smallest, the 11th-least populous, but the 13th-most densely populated of the fifty U.S. states. Hawaii's ocean coastline is about 750 miles (1,210 km) long, which is fourth longest in the United States after the coastlines of Alaska, Florida and California.
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