Information about Nihoa

Nihoa Island Archeological District
(U.S. Registered Historic District)
View of Nihoa Island View of Nihoa Island
Nearest city:	Kauai, HI
Added to NRHP:	June 13, 1988
NRHP Reference#:	88000640 [1]
Governing body:	FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

Nihoa (also known as Bird Island or Moku Manu) is a small island in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands located 120 miles northwest of the island of Niihau and 280 miles (450 km) northwest of Honolulu. Nihoa is composed of 173.234 acres (701,054 m²) of dry land, surrounded by 140,554 acres (570 km²) of coral reef.

Captain William Douglas, the second Western explorer to find Nihoa, describes it as "[bearing] the form of a saddle, high at each end, and low in the middle. To the south, it is covered with verdure; but on the north, west, and east sides it is a barren rock, perpendicularly steep..." (Rauzon 8). Its jagged nature gives the island its name, Nihoa, which means "tooth" in the Hawaiian language. Nihoa is the tallest of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, with two peaks, 895 ft (273 m) Miller's Peak in the west, and 852 ft (260 m) Tanager Peak in the east.

Geology

Nihoa is 7.2 million years old, and was once a large island before erosion wore it down to its current size. Six valleys slant down from north to south, meeting at the south side of the island: West Valley, West Palm Valley, Miller Valley, Middle Valley, East Palm Valley, and East Valley. Several interesting features occur on Nihoa. Dog's Head Peak (358 ft.) is named for its likeness. Pinnacle Peak (626 ft.) is a volcanic dike created when less resilient rock was eroded away and harder rock was open to the elements. The only flat area on the island is called Albatross Plateau, just below Miller's Peak. The Devil's Slide is a particularly impressive geological feature, a narrow cleft descending 700 feet irrespective of the surrounding elevation. Extending northward from Albatross Plateau, it ends at the vertical cliffs with an 190 feet drop straight down to the ocean below. In this chasm, rare ferns grow, along with several endemic species, including a giant cricket.

Endemism

Nihoa is a sanctuary for endemic species. Covered mostly by coastal scrub vegetation, the endemic Nihoa fan palm, Pritchardia remota, is the only species of tree on the island. There are also two endemic birds: the Nihoa Millerbird and Nihoa Finch. An endemic species of carnation, the Nihoa Carnation is also found in small numbers. Nihoa is also a genus of brushed trapdoor spiders (Barychelidae) with 23 species, with one species the Nihoa trapdoor spider (N. mahina) endemic to Nihoa [1], and another (N. hawaiiensis) endemic to Necker Island. An endangered species of Amaranth, Amaranthus brownii, is found only on Nihoa, and steps are in place to prevent its extinction.

Prehistoric human habitation

Nihoa was well known to the early Hawaiians. Archaeological expeditions found extensive prehistoric agricultural terraces and house sites. ^[2] Because of the island's usage by Native Hawaiians in Ancient Hawaii, the island was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. In June of 2006, Nihoa and the other Leeward Islands became part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument, the largest national monument in the United States. Slightly smaller than Montana, the Monument is larger than all of the National Parks put together, but the vast majority of its territory is water (or under water), as the total land area of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands is only 8.0485 km² (3.1075 sq mi).

Early exploration

The first Westerner to discover Nihoa was Captain James Colnett of the Prince of Wales, on March 21, 1788. As he was later captured by the Spanish and went mad in prison, the discovery was once widely accredited to Captain William Douglas of the Iphigenia, who sighted Nihoa almost a year later.^[3]

By the end of the 18th century, Nihoa had been forgotten by most Hawaiians. In 1822, Queen Kaahumanu and her husband King Kaumualii traveled with Captain William Sumner to find Nihoa, as her generation had only known the island through songs and myths.<ref name="Tava_1998_102103" /> Later, King Kamehameha IV sailed there to officially annex the island as part of the Kingdom. Finally, in 1885, Princess Liliuokalani made a pilgrimage to Nihoa with her escorts, but their luncheon was cut short when one of the party set off a brush fire by accident. The group tried to flee the island, but the rising tides made it difficult and several boats were flooded, destroying some of the photographs taken.^[4]

See also

• Tanager Expedition

Notes

References

External links

• Nihoa Island (with pictures & a map)
• Nihoa Island
• Quick Facts on Nihoa Island from the PBS Ocean Adventures site
• Amaranthus brownii as an endagered species

Coordinates:

•  • [ e] Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument French Frigate Shoals • Gardner Pinnacles • Kure Atoll • Laysan • Lisianski Island • Maro Reef • Midway Atoll • Necker Island • Nihoa • Pearl and Hermes Atoll

	•  • [ e] State of Hawaii Honolulu (capital)
Topics	Culture
Main Islands	Hawaiʻi
Northwestern Islands	French Frigate Shoals
Communities	Hilo
Counties	Hawaiʻi