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Kauai
Kauai (in standard Hawaiian ; in Kauai-Niihau dialect, ; usually spelled Kauai outside the Hawaiian Islands and or [1]) is the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago and the 21st largest island in the United States.[2] Known also as the "Garden Isle", Kauai lies 105 miles (170 kilometers) across the Kauai Channel, northwest of Oahu. Of volcanic origin, the highest peak on this mountainous island is Kawaikini at .[3] The second highest peak is Mount Waialeale near the center of the island, above sea level. One of the wettest spots on Earth, with an annual average rainfall of 460 inches (11,700 mm), is located on the east side of Mount Waialeale. The high annual rainfall has eroded deep valleys in the central mountains, carving out canyons with many scenic waterfalls. There is no known meaning behind the name of Kauai. Native Hawaiian tradition indicates the name's origin in the legend of Hawaiiloa — the Polynesian navigator attributed with discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. The story relates how he named the island of Kauai after a favorite son; therefore a possible translation of Kauai is "place around the neck", meaning how a father would carry a favorite child. Another possible translation is "food season."[4] The United States Census Bureau defines Kauai as Census Tracts 401 through 409 of Kauai County, Hawaii, which is all of the county except for the islands of Ka?ula, Lehua, and Niihau. The 2000 census population of Kauai (the island) was 58,303.[5]
HistoryDuring the reign of King Kamehameha, the islands of Kauai and Niihau were the last Hawaiian Islands to join his Kingdom of Hawaii. Their ruler, Kaumualii, resisted Kamehameha for years. King Kamehameha twice prepared a huge armada of ships and canoes to take the islands by force and twice failed; once due to a storm, and once due to an epidemic. In the face of the threat of a further invasion, however, Kaumualii decided to join the kingdom without bloodshed, and became Kamehameha's vassal in 1810, ceding the island to the Kingdom of Hawaii upon his death. Island factsThe city of L?hue, on the island's southeast coast, is the seat of Kauai County and the second largest city on the island. Kapaa, on the "Coconut Coast" (site of an old coconut plantation) about north of L?hue, has a population of nearly 10,000, or about 50% greater than L?hue. Waimea, once the capital of Kauai on the island's southwest side, was the first place in Hawaii visited by British explorer Captain James Cook in 1778. Waimea town is located at the mouth of the Waimea River, whose flow formed one of the most scenic canyons in the world. At deep, Waimea Canyon has been called "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific". 
One of Kauai's feral chickens The island of Kauai has been featured in more than 70 Hollywood movies and television shows, including the musical South Pacific and Disney's 2002 animated feature film and television series Lilo & Stitch. Scenes from South Pacific were filmed in the vicinity of Hanalei. Waimea Canyon was used in the filming of the 1993 film Jurassic Park. Parts of the island were also used for the opening scenes of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Other movies filmed here include Six Days Seven Nights, the remake of King Kong and John Ford's 1963 film Donovan's Reef. Coco Palms Resort is a famous resort located on this island and many of Elvis' films including Blue Hawaii were filmed here. The resort was damaged in the Hurricane in 1992, but is set to reopen by 2010. Kauai is home to the U.S. Navy's "Barking Sands" Pacific Missile Range Facility, on the sunny and dry western shore. Kauai was known for its distinct dialect of the Hawaiian language before it went extinct there. Whereas the standard language today is based on the dialect of Hawaii island, the Kauai dialect was known for pronouncing /k/ as /t/. (In fact, Kauai retained the old pan-Polynesian /t/, while Hawaii has innovated and changed it.) Therefore, the native name for Kauai was Tauai, and the major settlement of Kapaa would have been called Tapaa. 
A view of the Hanalei Valley in Northern Kauai. The Hanalei River runs through the valley and 60% of Hawaii's taro is grown in its fields. 
A view of the N? Pali coastline from the ocean. It is part of the N? Pali Coast State Park which encompasses of land and is located on the northwest side of Kauai. Important towns and cities
Hanalei Town with a view of Mt. Na Molokama, and M?malahoa. Cities and towns on Kauai range in population from the roughly 9,500 people in Kapaa to tiny hamlets. The list below lists the larger or more notable of those from the northernmost end of Hawaii Route 560 to the western terminus of Hawaii Route 50.
TransportationLihue Airport serves the island. Places of interest
The Spouting Horn: located on the southern coast of Kaua'i
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he:?????? bg:????? ca:Kauai cs:Kauai de:Kaua?i et:Kauai es:Kauai fa:??????? fr:Kauai gl:Kauai (illa) haw:Kaua?i hi:???? id:Kauai it:Kauai la:Kauai lt:Kauai nl:Kauai ja:????? no:Kauai nn:Kauai pl:Kauai pt:Kauai ru:????? simple:Kauai fi:Kauai sv:Kauai uk:????? zh:??? Source: Wikipedia | The above article is available under the GNU FDL. | Edit this article
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