Kauai

Kauaʻi (Hawaiian IPA pron.: ; Kauaʻi-Niʻihau dialect: ; usually spelled Kauai outside the Hawaiian Islands and pronounced ) is the oldest and fourth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands, having an area of 1,430.4 km² (552.3 sq mi). Known also as the "Garden Isle", Kauaʻi lies 105 miles (170 kilometers) across the Kauaʻi Channel, northwest of Oʻahu. Of volcanic origin, the highest peak on this mountainous island is Kawaikini at 1,598 m (5,243 ft). The second highest peak is Mount Waiʻaleʻale near the center of the island, 1,570 m (5,148 ft) above sea level. One of the wettest spots on Earth, with an annual average rainfall of 460 inches (11,700 millimeters), is located on the east side of Mount Waiʻaleʻale. The high annual rainfall has eroded deep valleys in the central mountain, carving out canyons with many scenic waterfalls.

There is no known meaning behind the name of Kauaʻi. Native Hawaiian tradition indicates the name's origin in the legend of Hawaiʻiloa — the Polynesian navigator attributed with discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. The story relates how he named the island of Kauaʻi after a favorite son; therefore a possible translation of Kauaʻi is "place around the neck", meaning how a father would carry a favorite child. In South Africa, a health food and drink franchise is named after the island .

The United States Census Bureau defines Kauaʻi as Census Tracts 401 through 409 of Kauaʻi County, Hawaiʻi, which is all of the county except for the islands of Kaʻula, Lehua, and Niʻihau. The 2000 census population of Kauaʻi (the island) was 58,303.