Nature Bank

Hawaii is the 50th and most recent U.S. state to join the United States. It joined the Union on August 21, 1959. It 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 is the 8th smallest, the 11th least populous, but the 13th most densely populated of the 50 U.S. states. Hawaii's ocean coastline is about 750 miles  long, which is fourth in the United States after those of Alaska, Florida and California.  Source

Kauaʻi or Kauai  is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of 562.3 square miles, it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States.  Known also as the "Garden Isle", Kauaʻi lies 105 miles  across the Kauaʻi Channel, northwest of Oʻahu. This island is the site of Waimea Canyon State Park. The United States Census Bureau defines Kauaʻi as Census Tracts 401 through 409 of Kauaʻi County, Hawaiʻi.  Source

Nakalele Point is a land mass at the northernmost point, on the western half on the island of Maui in the state of Hawaiʻi. In Hawaiian, Nakalele or Na-kalele means "the leaning". The Point is known for it blowhole and has become notable for its dangerous conditions when waves crash in. The point and blowhole are located just east of Poelua Bay. Nakalele Point is famous for a blowhole which produces powerful geyser-like water spouts with the waves and tides. Water spewed from the blowhole can rise as high as 100 feet in the air.  Source

A maelstrom  is a very powerful whirlpool; a large, swirling body of water. A free vortex, it has considerable downdraft. The power of tidal whirlpools tends to be exaggerated by laymen. There are few stories of large ships ever being sucked into a maelstrom, although smaller craft are in danger and tsunami or sinkhole-generated maelstroms may even threaten larger craft. Tales like those by Paul the Deacon, Edgar Allan Poe, and Jules Verne are entirely fictional. One of the earliest uses in English of the Scandinavian word was by Edgar Allan Poe in his story "A Descent into the Maelström" (1841). In turn, the Nordic word is derived from the Dutch maelstrom, modern spelling maalstroom, from malen (to grind) and stroom (stream), to form the meaning grinding current or literally "mill-stream", in the sense of milling (grinding) grain.  Source

Ishigaki  is a Japanese island west of Okinawa Honto and the second-largest island of the Yaeyama Island group. It is within the City of Ishigaki in Okinawa Prefecture. The city functions as the business and transport center of the archipelago. The island is served by New Ishigaki Airport, the largest airport in the Yaeyamas. Much of the island and surrounding waters including Mount Omoto and Kabira Bay are protected as part of Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park. Ishigaki Island, like the rest of Okinawa, is culturally influenced by both Japan and Taiwan due to its location, about 300 km off the north eastern coast of Taiwan (Republic Of China). A tsunami of record height hit Ishigaki Island in 1771. The island provided the scene for the arrest of one of the perpetrators of Aum Shinrikyo's sarin gas attack, Yasuo Hayashi, 21 months after and 2000 km away from where the crime took place. Ishigaki Port will be expanded so that five large Japanese coast guard patrol boats can be stationed there. The JSDF is also considering deploying short range anti-ship missiles on the island.  Source

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, established in 1916, is a United States National Park located in the U.S. State of Hawaiʻi on the island of Hawaiʻi. It encompasses two active volcanoes: Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, and Mauna Loa, the world's most massive subaerial volcano. The park gives scientists insight into the birth of the Hawaiian Islands and ongoing studies into the processes of vulcanism. For visitors, the park offers dramatic volcanic landscapes as well as glimpses of rare flora and fauna. In recognition of its outstanding natural values, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park was designated as an International Biosphere Reserve in 1980 and a World Heritage Site in 1987.  In 2000 the name recommended to be changed by the Hawaiian National Park Language Correction Act of 2000 observing the Hawaiian spelling, but that bill died. In 2012 the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park was honored on the 14th quarter of the America the Beautiful Quarters series. The park includes 323,431 acres  of land.  Source