Hawaii's Forgotten Islands

[@jungleland72]

That fact that there is a Hawaiian island that is closer to Alaska than the furthest part of the Big Island blows my mind.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Me too!

[@sebaschan-uwu]

Pacific islands are very small and spread out

[@yoursleepparalysisdemon1828]

@@sebaschan-uwu yeag

[@OperationHawaiiana]

@@SignoreGalilei um just a heads up, nearly all "w"'s are pronounced as v's, I am from hawai'i, I always try to help those from out of state about our unique culture and vowels of words.

[@jerryakamuadams6399]

i think part of the Aleutian island chains were once part of the hawaiian islands (millions of years ago). that hotspot under the pacific that made all the islands have been spewing lava for millions of years and the tectonic plates movement have moved the islands steadily northward like a conveyor belt

[@AvrahamYairStern]

Fascinating. I developed an obsession with Polynesian culture and islands a few years ago. You missed an opportunity to mention that the privately-owned island of Ni'ihau is the only place left where the Hawai'ian language is spoken monolingually, all the inhabitants being native speakers and most of them unable to speak English. Their dialect has actually diverged from Standard Hawai'ian and has some different phonemes.

[@SignoreGalilei]

That is a good fact about Ni'ihau, yeah. Might have been a cool thing to mention.

[@davidhenry5925]

If you enjoy the Polynesian culture and history, you should read the book "Hawaii" by James Michener. It is a historical fiction with heavy emphasis on history. He really did his research on Hawaii and kept it accurate in the book. It is a long book, but worth the read.

[@jerryakamuadams6399]

@@davidhenry5925 is that the book that the 1966 film is based on? That book is okay, but has a little bit too much fiction for my taste. As a Native Hawaiian i recommend Hawaiian Antiquities by David Malo, Hawaii's Story by Liliuokalani or Ancient History of the Hawaiian People by Abraham Fornander (anthropologist)

[@chelsrowe88]

Yes he did and mispronounced many word 😢

[@chelsrowe88]

​@@jerryakamuadams6399I agree

[@spectrex5302]

What's even more fascinating is how much of the Hawaiian islands have actually collapsed in major landslides (on a geological timescale). You can see a lot of the debris fields on underwater bathymetry charts.

[@SignoreGalilei]

I heard from a park ranger that those collapses produced gigantic tsunamis across the whole Pacific.

[@yosephbuitrago897]

What were the giant landslides caused by? Was it deforestation killing trees whose roots held the soil together? Did some of these islands like Nihoa ever have trees? This is all so fascinating

[@chuk1555]

@@yosephbuitrago897 my understanding is that the volcanos build a lot of mass upwards, and so doesn’t always form the most stable of bases.

[@1MoreTurn]

@@yosephbuitrago897 the lava rock has a quite a bit of iron in it. When it rusts it expands the rock slightly causing the rock to split. Now imagine a mass of land whose foundation will eventually form cracks from rusting.

[@kylenolan3138]

​@@1MoreTurn, same in La Palma, Canarias, right?

[@dananichols349]

I'm glad you mentioned the newest forming island. I'd first came across it when I was stationed in Pearl Harbor. One of the cartographers on our ship mentioned it to me as the expected name "Lo'ihi". And mentioned it would be fully developed and inhabitable in some 50,000 years. I've pulled that out every so often just to show off some knowledge. It's nice to see it getting some love from others also.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Glad I could help spread the word!

[@ACoolKidsProduction]

Heh, I learned about it from Futurama. I sort of miss the brevity of the old name.

[@NINE93THREE]

I've wondered how different Hawaii looked during the yunger dryas, about 400' lower sea levels and such

[@SignoreGalilei]

I don't know if this happened in the younger dryas specifically (which might have been more local to the North Atlantic from what I've read?), but looking at the bathymetric maps a 400 foot sea level drop would be enough for the islands of Maui Nui to reconnect, and potentially for some of the Emperor Seamounts to be re-exposed.

[@NINE93THREE]

@@SignoreGalilei oh wow, so wayy more land by comparison!

[@SignoreGalilei]

Yeah, pretty wild!

[@SignoreGalilei]

@@TheDogGoesWoof69 Of course Hawaii has contributed to the US. For example, 5 US Olympic Golds and 19 medal of honor recipients. Not to mention our first stand in World War Two. I'm giving you warning towards a ban on commenting - haven't decided how many warnings you get yet. Don't be rude and dismissive.

[@christopherellis2663]

​@Tyler how about 🏄‍♂️ 🌊 🏄‍♀️

[@kx.a19]

I feel like a stone’s been thrown at my head... As a Pacific Islander from Hawai’i and a geography lover, I was disappointed when I didn’t know what Midway Atoll was. Even though it was a U.S. territory, having to find out it existed through a WW2 documentary was gut wrenching, but I gotta say that this just topped it all, haha. Much love, though; I've learned so much and can’t wait to learn more!

[@SignoreGalilei]

I'm glad I could teach you something about these islands at least. I definitely encourage you to learn more about them beyond this video! The website for the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument was really helpful for me putting this together, so you might like it too.

[@James-ip8xs]

American moment Jk lol. Hawai'i is easily on of the most beautiful places I've been lucky to go.

[@briandonohue2502]

Ironic that I just discovered Midway was part of the Hawaiian chains even though I also love geography to a fault! I was looking at LIDAR images of the Pacific Ocean and stumbled upon Midway Island and as I panned back, lo and behold, it was clearly part of historic Hawaiian Islands' deep history! The funny thing is that it was a few days ago from the time I now view this. Life is crazy!

[@kx.a19]

@@briandonohue2502 This is hilarious I did too! I would just stare at the google maps of the region tho wondering abt all the outlines on the ocean floor everywhere. Yet it never crossed my mind that it could be 😂

[@tiedyehobo]

The Marshallese didn't want their islands blown up. They don't want to be in Hawaii. But the Hawaiian people treat them so bad. The Hawaiian people, or the ones that are born in Hawaii are the most prejudice people on the earth.

[@ankereisenman4824]

I always thought that Midway was just a random island in the Pacific, I didn’t realize it was PART of Hawaii!

[@SignoreGalilei]

Yeah! Geologically at least.

[@SantaIsHim]

Hawaii

[@James-kv6kb]

A famous Australian comedian once said ...war was invented to teach Americans geography and I believe that's very true lol

[@telnetDaMan]

I had known it I guess Hawaii is a volcano range that connects to russia

[@DrummerJacob]

@@SignoreGalilei Well you did say it was part of Hawaii so if its not politically part of Hawaii that may have been important to mention since what you actually meant to say was its part of the island chain or the volcanic group, not the state. I think you got a little bit caught up trying to find some fresh information to share you kinda just manufactured some by being vague about what you mean and having it basically mean something completely different.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

The birds on Midway Atoll are specifically the Laysan albatross. While their range is the North Pacific, nearly 100 percent of them are found on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, with most of them just on Midway. The most famous bird on Midway is Wisdom, who is actually the oldest known wild bird and banded bird in the world! It is estimated that she hatched in 1951, and is estimated she has laid between 50 and 60 eggs since 1956 (when she reached maturity), and 30 of them became fledged chicks! The USFWS views her as a very important contribution to the fragile albatross population. As for Ni'ihau, a less talked about event happened there regarding Pearl Harbor. Pilot Shigenori Nishikaichi crash landed there as the Japanese viewed the island as an uninhabited place for damaged aircraft to await rescue. Native Hawaiians unaware of the attack treated him like a guest, including three Japanese-born residents, but carefully removed his weapons and had guards in front of the Haroda family house he was staying in. When the pilot told the Harodas about the attack, they overcame a guard and escaped in order to destroy the plane and papers. They took two natives, the Kanaheles, prisoner, but one of them managed to kill the pilot. Ben Kanahele who was wounded, was given a Medal for Merit and a Purple Heart. But Ella who killed the pilot, didn't receive any sort of recognition. The papers were turned over. Irene Haroda and the translator were both sent to internment camps, while Irene's husband took his own life.

[@jackreisewitz6632]

This virtually unknown story had a huge impact on history. While unreported in the news, it did not go unreported to the White House, and the actions of the Haroda family strongly influenced the thinking that led to the policy of internment of Japanese in America.

[@SignoreGalilei]

I had read a little about both of these (the albatrosses and the Ni'ihau incident) but not nearly this much detail - thanks for sharing!

[@deisisase]

That's brutal

[@tjboone]

im sorry WHAT

[@kanakahawaii6860]

The Japanese pilot was treated like family. And he betrayed them.. The people of Ni'ihau had no idea what was going on with the War. They were just doing what po'e Hawai'i do. To take care of people and especially foreigners. I appreciate this video. This gets the message out to people who never knew. Po'e Hawai'i as well. Cuz Not everyone knows this story.

[@ronaldgray5707]

There are 3 airstrips named Henderson Field. One is on Guadacanal now named Honiara International Airport. It was a captured Japanese airstrip renamed after an American Pilot that died in the Battle of Midway. Another is on Sand Island on Midway, also named after that pilot. The third was also at Midway but on Eastern Island but has since been closed.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Cool, thanks for sharing!

[@heyitsjustmejj]

Could you do one on the biggest islands in Canada? I always see them on the map, yet know nothing about them, despite them being so iconic with the shape of Canada. Continue with the amazing videos!

[@SignoreGalilei]

That could be a good video - I'll see how it goes. And thanks!

[@kevinhouse7143]

I live on one of them.

[@ashleydolin4292]

@@kevinhouse7143 which one?

[@-Ncrypt]

@@kevinhouse7143Ellesmere? Lol

[@YahyeAli123]

@@kevinhouse7143Baffin island?

[@Kden21]

As a frequent google maps explorer, I see my several hours in the Pacific payed off when I recognized Minamitorishima when you brought up Japanese Islands, also speaking of which could you do an episode on the Izu Archipelaago or the Ogasawara Island chain in the future? It's amazing to see a youtube finally touch on niche islands in the Pacific and get traction from it.

[@SignoreGalilei]

A couple people have mentioned this, it might make a cool video.

[@I_Have_The_Most_Japanese_Music]

island nerd!

[@Kden21]

@@I_Have_The_Most_Japanese_Music I KNOW 😭

[@Venaticorum]

@@Kden21 same hahahahah i spent alot of hours exploring niche islands

[@wishgodgirl1903]

Very interesting, no one ever talks about those older islands. I enjoyed this very much!

[@SignoreGalilei]

Thanks!

[@shakaslots]

we do😊 just because its not in mainstream news that its not talked about. we as Kanaka Maoli knew of this in our oral chants (songs of old). this video helps the world understand the importance of Hawaii for more than bird feathers but its strategic location and so on. thanks for your comment and watching.

[@Kavinplaysroblox]

Same

[@StyleshStorm]

As a 90s baby born Oahu, Honolulu at Queen's Medical Center and raised Big Island (Hawaii Island, Hilo Side) my entire life up until my early 20s, I can say without hesitation that I never knew any of this information until tonight now currently temporary in the mainland. Mahalo (Thank you) for giving me pause and additional reason to appreciate my very unique home state.

[@SignoreGalilei]

You're welcome, I'm glad I could help you learn something about your home!

[@StyleshStorm]

@@SignoreGalilei 🌺🌴

[@x_HuLiMaKaFLip_x]

Yessah! 🙌🏽 cheeeeeeeee ponoooooo!

[@jameshisself9324]

I did some studying on this subject years ago and was gobsmacked when I realized that Midway is at the Northwest end of the Hawaiian chain. Absolutely brilliant illustration of plate tectonics and volcanic hot spots.

[@SignoreGalilei]

The geology is really cool! Being in the middle of the Pacific helps illustrate it all.

[@frankmayer3299]

I had the pleasure of spending 2 separate winters on Tern Island, one of the islands in the French Frigate Shoals, as well as 7 months on Johnston Atoll which you mentioned your video. They were some of the coolest places I have ever been. The albatross on Tern would walk up and pick at your hair if you sat quietly for a few minutes and the snorkeling was amazing. Your video brings back pleasant memories!

[@SignoreGalilei]

That sounds amazing! Glad I could remind you of such a cool experience.

[@macc.1132]

Were you a field scientist or in the military? So fascinating!

[@lucasbruh7522]

@@macc.1132 would also like to know!

[@jamesburke3803]

They don't mention that French frigate shouls was a Coast Guard Loran station for several decades, and was an official Playboy club. I was stationed aboard the Coast guard cutter Buttonwood, 1974-1976, and we fixed every buoy in the Hawaii chain, as well as loading cargo to French Frigate and Kure, which was also a CG Loran station. And fixed buoys at Midway, which was still a Naval base, and took fish and wildlife scientists to Necker, Nihoua, Laysan and Lisianski. After the scientists were done, the crew was able to go ashore on the last two islands, and it was an amazing experience to walk all the way around them. We also built a pen on the deck and brought green sea turtles to a couple deserted beaches out there, and now the entire chain has lots of these turtles. There were none before we reintroduced them. Being on that Buoytender really sucked. But i got to see some truly amazing places.

[@frankmayer3299]

@@SignoreGalilei i was a scientist helping to study the birds out on Tern Island. On Johnston i eas part of an effort to erradicate some invasive ants that were hatming the mass of birds out there.

[@kazb6526]

I'm from the islands and this is one for the whole ohana, Mahalo. 🌺

[@SignoreGalilei]

Thanks! I always love hearing from people who are from the places I talk about.

[@thisisme3238]

@Kaz B Aloha!

[@wadeoden8464]

I've been to Kaua'i and the Big Island and you can tell the former is a geologically baby (300,000 yrs old, said the tour guide at Kilauea). If you haven't been to Hawai'i, don't miss the Big Island. It's one of the most bizarrely beautiful places on the planet.

[@SignoreGalilei]

I went to see Kilauea's lava lake, it was incredible.

[@mcarm3628]

Really? I didn’t think the big island was anything too special.

[@wadeoden8464]

I don't think you went to the right places.@@mcarm3628

[@ggstatertots]

Tha Hamakua coast is beautiful

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Regarding that whole Russian colony thing: Basically, a German physician approached Kamehameha I to help fight the rebellious Kamuali'i, Kamehameha said no, they sailed to Kaua'i, Kaumuali'i was more than willing to become a Russian protectorate, the German promised him that Tsar Alexander would liberate Kaua'i and conquer the Hawaiian archipelago from Kamehameha, they built three forts, but turns out the Tsar never backed this German...so he was forced to leave in fall 1817. And regarding Lanai: Ellison has only owned the island since 2012. Before then, Mormons owned the island for ranching, then it was sold for a dollar in 1909, then sold again in 1922 to James Dole to create the world's largest pineapple plantation. Dole ended pineapple operations on Lanai in 1992, but it was owned by Castle & Cooke until 2012.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Thanks for the extra info!

[@I_Have_The_Most_Japanese_Music]

Why would someone end a pineapple operation?

[@x808drifter]

@@I_Have_The_Most_Japanese_Music Us being a state now made paying the now US citizens a living wage. It wasn't profitable anymore with cheaper labor available in other parts of the world. Same thing with sugar.

[@I_Have_The_Most_Japanese_Music]

@@x808drifter Interesting; I had thought that Hawaii becoming a state was a dastardly plot brought about by big American agricultural companies.

[@IvanSN]

@@I_Have_The_Most_Japanese_Music it was a dastardly plot brought about by many companies and interests.

[@robertboyes2505]

When I was serving in the Navy in 1982. I was assigned to a helicopter squadron, which was assigned to the airwing, that was assigned to the aircraft carrier, the USS Ranger CV-61. Two times, that year in 1982, the captain of the Ranger, got the Ranger close to the "Big island of Hawaii", at the southeast (Ka Lae (South Cape), when Mauna Loa was erupting, and sending lava through its lava tubes, right about sun rise both times, and was able to see lava pour into the ocean from the lava tubes. I also seen a Mauna Kea eruption too, while I was in the Navy. I also live in southwest Washington, about 45 to 50 miles southwest of Mt. St. Helens, and I did witnessed the May 18, 1980 eruption, before I went into the Navy in July of 1980.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Wow! That sounds like an impressive sight.

[@duderama6750]

Eruption? You mean explosion.

[@hebneh]

You didn’t see a Mauna Kea eruption, because that hasn’t happened for thousands of years. Kilauea erupts frequently and Mauna Loa infrequently; those are the only two.

[@hocuz9473]

Interestingly that was the last time Mauna Loa has ever erupted up until this year! That’s cool how you saw it the last time it erupted.

[@davejohn255]

I read about these islands rising and falling back into the ocean in James Michener's "Hawaii " on my first trip to the islands in '90. A great book to read on your trip over.

[@GLICKMIRE]

Spent a year on Tern Island, French Frigate Shoals, from 1966 to 1967 when stationed there at the Coast Guard Loran Station. Fascinating place with perfect weather. Trig, Whale-Skate and East Island were there but have since eroded away. Saw lots of seals, birds, sharks, turtles and rays as well as much other marine life. One of my tasks was maintaining the weather logs. The temperature ranges I recorded were between mid 50s and mid 80s during the course of a year. Not bad for sitting right on the Tropic of Cancer.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Amazing! That does sound like much better weather than I would expect - maybe something about the currents?

[@TheGoodGuy890]

A weather boy

[@jspihlman]

Some of the w's in the Hawaiian alphabet are pronounced like "v" instead of w, so while Hawai'i is correct with a "w" sound you can also make it a "v" sound like "Huh veye ee", and Kaho'olawe is always a "v" sound. It can be tricky to figure out which ones are changed, like Waikiki, the "w" is always "w" because "wai" is an established word in 'Ōlelo that means "water." I usually just tried to remember that if the word started with a "w," it's most likely "w," but if it's in the middle of a word, it's probably pronounced "v" in most cases.

[@x808drifter]

Good rule of thumb.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Thanks, people have been correcting me on this in the comments and I appreciate it.

[@kgill5]

“W” is pronounced “v” in German. Might explain some of the early name place spellings.

[@SignoreGalilei]

@@kgill5 That would make sense.

[@LadyHearth]

@@kgill5 not even kinda, it’s a Pacific Islander thing, Hawai’i inherited accents and language from the other islands and in many places was originally pronounced with a v, the Hawai’i of today has very spots that retain that older accent with its ‘v’ sounds, it has nothing to do with outsiders like Germany

[@ZoeyAlexandria]

I went to Hawaii (Oahu specifically) a few years back with a friend and got to experience the “tourist’s dream”, and even meet up with a friend who moved from my home city to where I was visiting in Hawaii, we got to meet up, got food and kissed a few times haha. My now wife, who I met on the mainland years after my trip to Hawaii, had 5 years prior to us meeting come from Hawaii to the mainland, she is native Hawaiian and amazing. Hawaii is a magical place. I hiked up an old coal train trek on Oahu with my friend, this was before I got diagnosed with all the health issues I now deal with. I’m glad younger me got to experience what I did before getting so Ill. Thanks for the video. Just remember folks, just cause you’re young doesn’t mean you won’t lose everything to some rare autoimmune disease that you’re diagnosed with when you’re like 26. I can’t even walk anymore really. I deal with multiple seizures almost every day, nausea so bad it makes you keel over. I so badly want to meet my in-laws, but idk if my health will ever allow me to. Anyways thanks for the video and the trip down memory lane.

[@SignoreGalilei]

What a story! Glad I could bring back some happy memories for you.

[@dubstepXpower]

That sucks and sorry for you. Hope some treatment will be developed.

[@markdinkel-uh2je]

Prayers you get better. I might wanna take you to the hot surf spots brah.🏄🤙Shaka

[@raidanblitz5817]

It's always nice to see videos on the place you live on, it just opens your eyes to where you are in the world and how unique certain places are. Props to you man great video!🩵🤙

[@SignoreGalilei]

Thanks!

[@greendeane1]

When I was exiting the Army my flight landed on Midway. It was basically a tower and landing strip. When it came to take off, the jet was backed to the end of the run way with the het's tail over water. We actually never took off, we just ran out of runway, I can still remember looking out the window and seeing bubbles in the waves.

[@SignoreGalilei]

That sounds crazy! I've heard these island runways compared to aircraft carriers pretty often.

[@swisstroll3]

In the first half of the Sixties, my father, who was then in a non-flying job in the Air Force, usually got his monthly flight pay by flying a C-47 (military DC 3) to midway and back from Hickam AFB in Honolulu.

[@vistalover9607]

Wow! So knowledgeable. I learned a lot. Thank you for making this. Kind pronunciation reminder: Hawaiian W’s are sort of a hybrid between V’s and W’s, sorta like how G Has a hard G and soft G sound (Giraffe or Giant, versus Gorgeous or Gravy). So most notably, Kahoolawe is Ka-Ho-Oh-LAH-VAY. Ends with VAY. Like the Vay in “vane”. Kalawao county is “Kah lah VAO” VAO like Vowel. Technically Hawaii is almost V as well, although much softer. Also it is technically spelled with an Okina which is a letter represented by a reverse apostrophe. It’s a glottal stop. Basically that weird pause when you say UH-OH. You can’t even say Uh-oh without a glottal stop. If you say Uhoh it sounds crazy weird. Hope that makes sense!

[@SignoreGalilei]

Thanks for the help! I appreciate the corrections like this in the comments.

[@gregorykelley5555]

Kudos for most of the difficult 'Ōlelo Hawai'i pronunciations! However, Honolulu is almost universally mispronounced, even by its residents. Only one consonant per syllable, so Ho-no-LU-lu.

[@SignoreGalilei]

@@gregorykelley5555 Thanks, that's helpful too.

[@lea_couldnt_find_good_name3548]

Yea I mentioned this to. Kinda annoys me when Haoles don't learn this and butcher the names of our places.

[@AllenHanPR]

A lot of islands are rarely solo, they are usually colonies of islands around them. Some go up to the hundreds. Malay Archipelago, largest group of islands in the world, consisting of the more than 17,000 islands of Indonesia and the approximately 7,000 islands of the Philippines.

[@dubstepXpower]

It's a beautiful place. Is Palau on the Philippines plate since it's so isolated from the rest of Micronesia?

[@sophdog1678]

This was fascinating, and I also did not know that Midway was part of Hawaii

[@SignoreGalilei]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@adventureseeker9800]

Totally fascinating. I love both geology and natural history. Very informative.

[@greg-nelsonlambert-vaca2446]

Kure Island, you forgot to add that it was a Coast Guard Loran Station after WW2 and that now there are groups that stay on the island for about 3 months at a time to help restore it to a natural state.

[@SignoreGalilei]

That is a cool bit of history there.

[@jamesbyrd468]

The USCG Loran Station was manned with an approximately twenty five person crew who would serve one year tours. Logistic support was by C-130 flights from Oahu. I did an inspection trip there once. A C-130 landing on a strip which was only about 2500 feet was Interesting to say the least when it was loaded with cargo. A brief tour of the lagoon in an RHIB was a highlight. Talk about being "stuck in paradise". A week OK. A month maybe. That island becomes awfully small for the rest of the year.

[@RedAndGoldF8ful]

That was educational! Well done, thanks! I have been to all 4 major Hawaii islands, all for pleasure. Didnt know how expansive it is. Wow!

[@SignoreGalilei]

You're welcome! Glad to help you learn something.

[@BrianStDenis-pj1tq]

Great video, very interesting. I knew about Midway but had no idea it was related politically or geologically to Hawaii.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Thanks, glad to help you learn something!

[@James-kv6kb]

It would seem a lot of Americans have no idea, that education system of yours isn't the best

[@bbbb-fr5tj]

Loved this video! Would love to keep seeing videos like this about forgotten places that used to have people but don’t anymore or even just places that are really obscure. Always fun to learn about them

[@SignoreGalilei]

Thanks! This style of video is something that I like doing, so there will probably be more of them to come.

[@T-Will-4554]

I watch tons of geography videos and already know everything detailed. I learn something new from every single video you make. Keep making these man, they're excellent!

[@frankviterise7333]

I grew up in Hawaii I'm now 66 years old you pronounce all the Hawaiian names correctly that's a plus in my book you also gave me a lot of history about Haro Hawaiian island chain did I didn't know about thank you thumbs up buddy aloha

[@SignoreGalilei]

You're welcome, that makes me happy to hear!

[@saikauwe3601]

He butchered most of the island names lol

[@HereGoesKevin]

Not only Hawaii has its forgotten Islands but most definitely has its forgotten language and culture as well, I've been to Hawaii back in 2017~18 and I was really excited to know more about the Hawaiian language and culture until we got there, to my disappointment - we got to meet the locals and get a huge reality check on the fact that most of them especially the younger ones mainly speak English and barely even participates in their traditional dances and things like that. Still Hawaii is a beautiful group of Islands and also deserves to be recognized more in the US Mainland.

[@SignoreGalilei]

It definitely does deserve more recognition. Cultural practices in a lot of places are unfortunately disappearing - it'll be a challenge in the coming decades to keep them alive.

[@snowdenwyatt6276]

Hawaiian is the primary language on Ni'ihau ... but there's only about 50 full time residents and visiting requires permission from the islands' owners.

[@passingRakz954]

Great video I showed it to my dad who used to pretty much live on the sea and beach in Kauai, he has told me plenty stories of him seeing these islands and fishing on them before, and there was some things he didn’t know till now he liked this video alot

[@SignoreGalilei]

That's awesome, glad you and your dad enjoyed the video!

[@BigChungus-t2v]

Imagine being so rich that not only can you afford a private island, you can afford a private Hawaiian island…

[@b_lx3476]

I've been waiting for any video from anyone in the lost Hawaiian islands thank you so much!

[@SignoreGalilei]

You're welcome, glad to help!

[@ryanstewart1521]

Wow, great info on the northern islands. Always wanted to go up that way, must be so peaceful with no planes and cars.

[@SignoreGalilei]

They are off limits to general visitors at the moment, but Midway might reopen if they get more staff. I'm sure it would be very cool to visit.

[@HieronymousLex]

Absolutely fascinating video, I love this kind of stuff. I can sit with google earth and wikipedia open for hours finding and reading about tiny islands and interesting corners of the globe

[@SignoreGalilei]

Thanks! Google Earth is fun.

[@chiefmonrovia6691]

I just recently picked up a book called "Hawaii uncommon history" by Edward joesting. I haven't started reading it yet, I've been working on a Herbert hoover biography, but this video got me wondering if I should try reading two books at a time like I used to.

[@SignoreGalilei]

They both sound like cool books. I was at the Herbert Hoover national historic site and they were really focusing on all the great things he did before becoming president - they were telling the narrative that he was just in the wrong place (the White House) at the wrong time (the start of the Great Depression).

[@chiefmonrovia6691]

@@SignoreGalilei it's actually even worse than being in the wrong place at the wrong time, he was elected on a platform of being a superhuman problem solver. One of the busiest men to occupy the role, the papers were nothing but the most teeth rotting sugar-coated stories of how he was the engineer who could work out a solution to anything. The worst part was he believed it himself and took it personally when he failed, basically developing the same public service obsession Jimmy Carter developed after his presidency.

[@chiefmonrovia6691]

@@The.Hawaiian.Kingdom oh you bet your ass I'm gonna!! This book sound great, thank you so much, I am quite interested in Hawaiian history long before Americans showed up. Most of my interest in Hawaii stops around the end of the 19th century.

[@jamesbyrd468]

I would recommend James Michner's "Hawaii". I read it before being stationed in Honolulu in the mid 80"s. It is fictionalized history but great for understanding the history of the society after the "white man" came and ruined paradise.

[@liquidfluid11]

This is awesome, i was born on Hawaii and hadn't know this much about the island chain before. Nice job

[@nicholascauton9648]

As a 90s kid born and raised on the island of Oahu, nobody, and I mean, NOBODY ever told me about the additional islands that are also a part of the Hawaiian island chain. All my life, I thought it was only Big Island, Maui, Molokai, Lana’i, Kaho’olawe, Oahu, Kauai, and Ni’ihau. But no, these are only the major islands of Hawaii. And the minor ones are (unfortunately) not a part of that in a legal context.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Glad I could help you learn something. Midway is the only one of the chain that isn't legally part of Hawaii, though the others certainly aren't "major islands" either.

[@James-kv6kb]

A phenomenon only Americans seem to experience

[@PattyKuluCakes]

On January 7, 2004, a Continental Flight 6, a Boeing 777 from Tokyo Narita Airport to Houston Intercontinental Airport carrying 294 people made an emergency landing at 03:10 local time at Midway Henderson Field due to losing an engine after suffering an oil leak from a starter. According to a Hawaiian Airlines spokesperson, Flight HA460 - carrying 12 crew members and 67 passengers - made an emergency landing at Midway Atoll on Friday, Sept. 24, due to a “low oil pressure notification.”

[@SignoreGalilei]

Yeah a "low oil pressure notification" seems like quite an understatement there haha.

[@thenadonation2664]

I use to live on Oahu and my daughter was born there. It is a beautiful place with wonderful people and I'll always miss it. I got to visit the big island a few times and it truly is a magical place.

[@TheBigdutchster]

Very informative. I had the pleasure to visit three of the islands last year and liked Kauai the best.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Very cool! I've only been to Oahu and the big island myself.

[@TheBigdutchster]

@@SignoreGalilei I went, in order, to Oahu, which was too crowded for my tastes, then Kauai, which lives up to its name as the Garden Island, and then to Oahu, which reminded me a lot of California.

[@thisisme3238]

@@TheBigdutchster If you should go back to visit the islands again,.may I suggest a visit to Maui ... Mahalo!

[@TheBigdutchster]

@@thisisme3238 I visited in order Oahu, Kauai, and Maui which reminded me a lot of Cali.

[@dananichols349]

I've been to Oahu, Maui, The Big Island, and Moloka'i. Moloka'i was by far the best and the most beautiful.

[@evoxpop2088]

Thanks for that lesson. We always seem to just concentrate on the big islands and forget the small ones as part of Hawaii.

[@SignoreGalilei]

You're welcome! I'm glad I could bring some attention to these smaller islands too.

[@Robotcooldab]

1:30 You see that city there with that hotel, That’s where I live

[@SignoreGalilei]

Cool!

[@taemea9194]

Hawai’i is an occupied country, and our kingdom was recognized by many large and powerful nations until it was was illegally annexed by the US.***** my ancestors knew and frequently visited those other islands, but with the banning of our culture and language, a lot of our history and skills were lost to us and we’re still trying to bring it back.

[@SignoreGalilei]

The US (along with most imperial countries) does not have a good track record when it comes to other cultures. I hope we're past that pattern of conquest and cultural erasure but I fear it's still too prevalent.

[@DegenerateY]

gov back

[@robbhays8077]

Take the L and move on.

[@robbhays8077]

It's been a part of the US longer than it ever was a unified nation.

[@robbhays8077]

If you want, we can leave and then you can get back to petty warlords fighting over agricultural lands ad nauseum.

[@allenhook3042]

Very interesting, I love hearing about little known islands and seeing them & hearing the history. Thanks.

[@eekeey]

Born and raised in Honolulu. So neat to see the history of the islands.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Thanks!

[@judgegoodevening6231]

So interesting to hear about the history of Earth, underwater mountains and Hawaiian 🌺 islands. Thank you!

[@Vienna3080]

Video on Ancient American lakes would be fascinating Lakes like Bonneville, Lake Tahoe, Lake Missoula, and Lake Lahontan have all dried up or shrunk

[@SignoreGalilei]

I agree, that one's on my list actually. I'll see when it can be done.

[@masterchinese28]

I appreciate that Sikaiana (Stewart Island) was mentioned. Decades ago there were residents of that island that turned up in Hawaii and tried to vote!

[@SignoreGalilei]

That must have been an interesting moment there!

[@masterchinese28]

@@SignoreGalilei It was years ago that I read about it, but from my recollection it was something about this island being mainly Polynesians and the rest of the Solomons are Melanesians. The island appealed to King of Hawaii to join his kingdom and he agreed. However, when Hawaii was annexed by the U.S., Stewart Island wasn't counted. Some of the residents thought that they should be, due to the connection with the King so many years before. The attempt to vote was an attempt at asserting their belief that they should be counted as Hawaiians/Americans.

[@brianfreeman8290]

I always dreamed of visiting Hawaii (from chilly, damp Britain), but I did not know so much of this.

[@kimm6589]

It's a long flight even for those of us in the States! Just mentally prepare for that! 🙂

[@SignoreGalilei]

They're very beautiful islands. Glad I could help you learn about them.

[@Chloroplastspectrum]

Your pronunciation of Papahānaumokuākea really made my day (it was borderline unrecognizable, but I can tell you tried).

[@SignoreGalilei]

That's even better than I was hoping for, thanks!

[@NeroPiroman]

the same process formed the mariyanas as well, quite interesstinfg

[@SignoreGalilei]

Yeah, it is definitely interesting.

[@wistercrimson3904]

Absolutely fantastic video. A great history and geographical lesson for sure. Thanks.

[@SignoreGalilei]

You're welcome!

[@WhyForWhatNow]

0:18 is my brightness too low?

[@SignoreGalilei]

I think the video itself is pretty dark there, sorry about that.

[@supervegito2277]

Ive known about Hotspots for over a decade, if not closer to 2, but never thought to look up about older hawaiian islands, until i saw this video. Thanks.

[@zanedietlin7645]

Fun fact- Mauna Loa on the big island is actually taller in elevation than Mauna Kea (as in, it reaches higher into the atmosphere) but Kea is taller from the seafloor

[@SignoreGalilei]

Hmm... I thought Mauna Kea was the higher altitude one and Mauna Loa was larger as in more volume. Maybe we're still counting the base differently?

[@eslnoob191]

@@SignoreGalilei You're correct. Mauna Kea reaches just a couple hundred feet higher in elevation and is much more prominent from base to summit. Mauna Loa is probably the first or second largest volcano by volume on Earth. The original poster's comment about measuring from the seafloor is meaningless since both volcanoes are part of the same massif.

[@zanedietlin7645]

@@eslnoob191 yeah, I think I was mistaken. The seafloor measurement is meaningless I think. It’s probably more of a local brag or something, I lived there and they never shut up about volcanoes 😂

[@johnmeyers8588]

Superb video! I knew the "other" Hawaiian islands exist, but this was really insightful.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Thank you!

[@giraffeman326]

8:18 Wall-E?

[@SignoreGalilei]

It's a surprisingly good likeness

[@GianGood17]

Seems like BnL made a variant of WALL-Es but underwater

[@diannehopkins587]

This video is amazing! The content is always so engaging.

[@mikeifyouplease]

If you do another vid about Hawaii, perhaps you could cover the amazing fresh water phenomenon. The rainwater pushes the salt water out from under the land surface of the islands. That's kind of all I know, but I would think it would make an interesting story, especially like what happens if too much ground water is extracted and the salty seawater takes its place. That is an important issue that most places on the "mainland" don't even have to contemplate. Thanks.

[@SignoreGalilei]

I think the phenomenon (or a related one) is called a "water lens", but I'm not 100% sure on the details. It definitely sounds cool though.

[@royreynolds108]

Any area along the coast of a salty water body other than rock(s) has or can have a problem of saltwater intrusion if too much groundwater is pumped out. This tends to be a bigger problem with mechanical or electric-powered pumps instead of wells using buckets or handpumps. This is especially true for low-lying land instead of a fairly steep drop into the sea. see: Netherlands, Northern Germany, East Coast of US, Florida around to Mexico on the Gulf of Mexico, etc

[@ninjanerdstudent6937]

Fantastic. Stuff I never thought I would learn otherwise.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Glad to help you learn something!

[@johnkeck]

My aunt, now deceased, worked for many years on Johnston Island. They disposed of hazardous waste there, explosives and chemical weapons I think. My mother suspects the exposure to all the chemicals is what made her ill and eventuated in her death.

[@SignoreGalilei]

From what I've heard of with the burn pits and such it wouldn't be all that surprising to me, unfortunately.

[@rydgevilla8643]

I'm from one of the small islands that is right in the middle. Molokai. It's a special place... the kings most favorite island and most Hawaiian of all the islands.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Very cool! Always love hearing from people who live in the places I talk about.

[@paulshuttleworth6261]

As visited in Cabin Pressure’s Christmas special in 2010, a BBC radio sit-com staring Benedict Cumberbatch!

[@JonathanSladkoTV]

Interesting and informative. Thank you!

[@SignoreGalilei]

You're welcome!

[@davidgrech4574]

Thank you for sharing the details about how the process works and I studied this in my geology course and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week 🌎😉

[@SignoreGalilei]

You're welcome, you too!

[@ethoatom668]

Interesting video; I used to be obsessed with the North West Hawaiian Islands when I was younger because they were the ones that no one talked about (for good reasons, to be fair, there is little on them to interest the general public.) I wish you got a little more into the endemic life and ecosystems that pop up and around these islands and atolls; mentioning the Laysan duck was an excellent starter, though. Also, I mean this very nicely, but you need to work on your Hawaiian pronunciation. As a long-time resident and upper-level Hawaiian language speaker, it wasn't easy getting through parts of the video. I am willing to provide you free personal lessons on how to pronounce Hawaiian words if you are interested, Hawaiian has very few rules when it comes to pronunciation, and those rules are very consistent (unlike English and its spelling hellscape), so you could probably be pronouncing these names like a local in just an afternoon or two! or at least be going in the right direction.

[@SignoreGalilei]

I agree English is a mess when it comes to pronunciation vs spelling. Several people have mentioned my pronunciation and I'll freely admit it's not very good. Thanks for offering to help - if I end up doing more videos about Hawaii I might reach out to the community here for help.

[@Just_A_Guy_Here.]

Due to the natural diversity of Hawaii, just imagine the many endemic species of Hawaii that have been lost by it's seamounts that once were islands themselves.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Oh yeah, definitely.

[@garyturner5204]

Sadly, so very true. I caught a program on PBS that covered some of the more recent biological losses of plants and animals. :(

[@mathoskualawa9000]

At about 2:31 you say "a brief republic," whilst using a picture from the invasion of US Marines in Honolulu. In that photo, the Hawaiian Kingdom was still very much in effect. The invasion (pictured in the photo) happened in January 1893, while the Republic of Hawaii wasn't officially declared until July 1984, about a year and a half later.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Yeah, I wanted an image that invoked the idea that the republic was imposed rather than popularly acclaimed.

[@mathoskualawa9000]

@@SignoreGalilei I can respect that.

[@robertbing7585]

Do the Alaskan islands next?

[@SignoreGalilei]

Probably not next, but it might be a good one to do at some point.

[@robertbing7585]

@@SignoreGalilei thanks for the consideration 😝

[@jdane2277]

Didn't realize Midway was part of the Hawaiian archipelago. Thanks for an informative video

[@SignoreGalilei]

You're welcome!

[@kudwafter]

Im from Honolulu and I have never known about these forgotten islands. Thank u for sharing ! its very interesting to learn more abt the place i live in :)

[@SignoreGalilei]

You're welcome!

[@davidleadford6511]

In the late 70s (78 & 79) I was stationed on an island at French Frigate Shoals at a USCG Loran station. I have many fond memories of the place.

[@SignoreGalilei]

That must have been an incredible experience!

[@davidleadford6511]

@@SignoreGalilei It was, and I'd love to go back.

[@michellenowicki8181]

That’s really cool!

[@damodardas219]

Ive heard that many of thesr outer islands like Necker and Nihoa were actually where many of the first colonizing species to reach Hawaii first arrivef

[@SignoreGalilei]

That's pretty cool. Is it because they're older islands?

[@SignoreGalilei]

​@@The.Hawaiian.Kingdom Damodar and I are referring to the wildlife (seals, birds, plants, etc.) not the native Hawaiian people. You're welcome to have opinions here but please don't insult people's humanity without taking a sec to consider they might not actually be saying something evil. I'm going to consider this as half of a commenting ban (that is, if I see you doing something this severe again I will ban you.)

[@SignoreGalilei]

@@The.Hawaiian.Kingdom Yeah, I'm a little bit sorry because you've had some perfectly fine comments mixed in but I am in fact going to ban you for this one, since you are continuing to assume the worst of others and act in bad faith.

[@damodardas219]

@@SignoreGalilei By colonizing species I meant an example like the Rose Finch which biologists say arrived on Nihoa about 7 million years ago and later evolved into over 50 types of honeycreepers dispersed throughout the major Hawaiian islands.

[@franciscopozole]

​@@damodardas219 is it possible some species have simply island hopped over 10s of millions of years from the mainland? Following the island chains long and slow progression across the Pacific.

[@Joshhacker4231vidoes]

Enjoyed this. I was raised in Hawai’i and obviously knew about these “other”islands, but this filled in a lot of “blanks” for me.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Glad to help you learn!

[@danhaas9730]

The craziest thing? I'm a historian who talks a lot about the Second World War naval battles, and yet still somehow didn't make the connection that Midway is part of the same geologic formation as Hawaii!

[@SignoreGalilei]

Yeah! I thought it was really cool when I first found that out, which is why I decided to share that with everyone in this video.

[@Nycticora]

I learned about this in sixth grade, pretty interesting that the current islands are going to be gone eventually and replaced by new ones.

[@ThecrazyJH96]

On google maps you can see thousands of small islands across the pacific. I’m sure bigger thousands of years ago. So you can easily imagine how the ancient Polynesians could sail across the pacific from these islands and eventually South America

[@SignoreGalilei]

They definitely could have reached South America, I think it's still not 100% known that they did though.

[@l0I0I0I0]

Cool! I use to travel to these islands in the Coast Guard. Loved diving and playing volleyball on Currey island back when it was a loran station for the Coast Guard.

[@SignoreGalilei]

That must have been cool!

[@luapele1]

I commend you on your ability to pronounce Hawaiian as well as you do. I sadly find fault in the fact that you don't even mention the facts about the contested nature of our sovereignty. Even a short statement like "Hawaiia's state hood has been challenged as recently as 2001 where the Hawaiian sovereign kingdom was reconized in a permanent court arbitration."

[@SignoreGalilei]

I see where you're coming from. I meant for this video to be about physical geography more than political geography, but I get that it is a major issue affecting Hawaii today, and that not talking about something is a choice just as much as what I actually say out loud.

[@lea_couldnt_find_good_name3548]

Yes! I commented the same. Mahalo for spreading the word.

[@TrickiVicBB71]

I like military history so i knew importance of Midway Island but didn't know there were other islands in between and even extending the island. This is very cool to learn. And good timing as I am going to Hawaii for first time for my honeymoon next month

[@SignoreGalilei]

Cool! Have a good honeymoon.

[@mavywavy801]

As a native Hawaiian, when I saw this video I knew that you were gonna talk about the Atolls that we have. I clicked on it because there were some things I didn’t know like how on one of the atolls rare birds would benefit from resting on there but bird hunters would kill them and the president stepped in to stop them. Btw, no offense but you majorly butchered all of the Hawaiian names, especially Kaho’olawe and Ni’ihau 😂 still, you did a great job despite that.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Glad to help you learn something! Yeah, I have a whole load of outtakes where I'm sure I butchered the pronunciations even worse. I appreciate everyone's help in the comments.

[@kimm6589]

Yea, no chickens on the atolls it seems. 😉

[@joiscara7191]

I’m Maui Grown, and yeah, him trying to pronounce those names made me chuckle, and the video is superb.

[@JohannGambolputty22]

So much inaccuracy in this video. Every local knows the 9th island is Las Vegas.

[@SignoreGalilei]

@@JohannGambolputty22 yeah in retrospect I actually wish I knew to include it haha

[@ItsMzPhoenix]

In my physical geography course, we talked about how the hotspot trail shown at 7:27 can be used to trace the Pacific Plate's movement over many millions of years; after moving northward and a bit westward, said plate began moving westward and a little northward, with the hotspot pushing magma up to through the ocean floor.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Yeah! Also, it's not just the Hawaii hotspot, other hotspots in the Pacific have left similar trails.

[@limeliciousmapping4652]

I remember discoverig them on google maps as a kid, I was so fascinated for some reason, thank you a lot for this video!

[@SignoreGalilei]

You're welcome! I like looking at these kinds of places on maps too.

[@TripsandFeasts1]

Before I visited Maui, I did some general research into these beautiful islands. I was surprised to see many native Hawai'ians demonstrating with upside-down Hawai'ian flags and chanting "We will always be Hawai'ian. We will never be American." More research led to me the events of 1993 where then President Clinton made and signed a formal apology to the people of Hawai'i for the events 100 years earlier in 1893. It appears that all now agree that the USA stole Hawai'i and that strictly speaking, it should still be an independent country. I wonder how many visitors from the USA are aware of those events.

[@SignoreGalilei]

Yeah it's pretty standard knowledge in history/geography circles by this point, but I'm not sure about the general public.

[@starscream548]

I really enjoyed this, I’d love to see more Pacific island content pls

[@SignoreGalilei]

Glad you enjoyed it, I might do another one on some other Pacific Islands.

[@Warriormon87]

My pet peeve is when people use "CE" instead of AD.

[@caustichonu]

B+ on pronunciations. Really awesome content! Definitely worth a sub. 🤙🏾

[@SignoreGalilei]

That's better than I would have hoped for haha. Thanks for the sub!

[@lea_couldnt_find_good_name3548]

nah B+ is exaggerating

[@rithwikp.m]

First

[@SignoreGalilei]

Congrats

[@rithwikp.m]

Thanks! Your videos make me feel better.

[@SignoreGalilei]

That really makes me happy to hear, glad you're enjoying them!

[@theunderrated5172]

As someone from Hawaii, you got a lot of the geography very accurate. As a matter of fact there’s many other myths about how the Hawaiian islands were created. Like how Waiākea (pronounced: why-ah-Kay- uh) and papahounamoku (pronounced: papa-how-nah-mo-ku) got together and created the Hawaiian islands with Hawaii being first Maui being second, but waiakea cheated and created Molokai and lanai, but the two made up after the incident and created the rest of the islands with the last of the main islands being Kahoolawe (pronounce: kah-ho-o-lah- vay), after that they went on to create all the rest of the atolls and minor islands in the Hawaiian islands. I can go on about many other stories about the history of the Hawaiian islands (and the nickname for each Hawaiian island) but so far you got every geographical and cultural history of the Hawaiian islands very much accurate with a lot of the minor islands being an area where a lot of Hawaii’s most critically endangered species live, and yes Maui used to be one large island until millions of years of natural disasters and climate change separated them into individual islands, that’s why you can see many smaller islands and boulders around the main islands.

[@harveydixon7705]

Don’t fuck with teddy’s birds lol

[@SignoreGalilei]

Yeah lol

[@craigthistleton6403]

Thank you for explaining things that I didn't even know, and I live here in Hawaii!

[@SignoreGalilei]

You're welcome!

[@lea_couldnt_find_good_name3548]

Please learn how to pronounce Hawaiʻi before making a whole youtube video on it. That's just embarrassing. And Hawaiʻi is illegally occupied so under international law it is actually not apart of the USA. As someone born in raised in Hawaiʻi I feel you should have learned at least how to pronounce it and got some of those facts straight before uploading this video. I appreciate a lot of the other information but just to let you know the UN recognizes Hawaiʻa as illegally occupied so us Hawaiians are not US americans. I appreciate you took the time to research these geographical facts! I'm from Moku o Keawe (another name for Big Island we say out there.) When you read the name of the island notice the ʻokinas ( ʻ ) When you pronounce the islands you ignored them. Many of the names you completely butchered the pronunciation. The W's are pronounced like v's. I'm just stating if you want to seem more knowledgeable next time educate yourself on pronunciation and Hawaiʻi's status as being sovereign. Although some of the northwest islands being used as bases might be non-sovereign, most of them the USA has no right to use them as such and do so illegally. But you tried an i've heard worse. All these points aside I'm glad that you brought the attention to my nation and it's lesser known areas.

[@abbysaito5348]

As someone who lives on the islands, it's kind of funny how you're pronouncing the names/words but it's better than most so it was just startling rather than jarring LOL What makes it startling is that it's 80% correct pronunciation and 20% what the heck just happened, it was all good up until now. Otherwise thank you for showcasing out other islands as well :) Most people just think of Oahu/big island/Maui lol

[@SignoreGalilei]

Well at least I was better than average haha. I was relying a lot on online pronunciation guides but I think I needed to do more to interpret them correctly.

[@abbysaito5348]

@@SignoreGalilei you did good!!! Better than most. One thing to note is that a lot of W's in Hawaiian language near the end of words usually sound like V's so Hawaii would be more pronounced like ha vah ee. Which can be confusing since Waikiki still is why key key lol I've forgotten my Hawaiian language classes as to why certain words have different stresses as it's been over a decade and just have taken it for granted but aloha from the islands 😊 if you ever come visit stay away from the tourist traps. Cost you an arm and a leg for something you can do for free normally hahaha

[@SignoreGalilei]

@@abbysaito5348 Thanks for the advice, I'll be sure to remember!

[@johnmcnulty4425]

Very informative and well presented video! Appreciate the opportunity to learn more about this wonderful place..