Nihoa

View of Nihoa Island

Nihoa (also known as Bird Island or Moku Manu) is a small island located 280 miles (450 km) northwest of Honolulu in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Nihoa is composed of 170 acres (0.7 km²) of dry land, surrounded by 140,554 acres (570 km²) of coral reef. The north and west sides rise precipitously from the shore as a sea cliff, giving 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 and 852 ft (260 m) Tanager Peak.

Covered mostly by coastal scrub vegetation, the Nihoa fan palm, Pritchardia remota, is the only species of tree on the island. There are also two species of 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 (N. mahina) endemic to Nihoa [link], and another (N. hawaiiensis) endemic to Necker Island.

Nihoa was well known to the early Hawaiians. Archaeological expeditions found extensive prehistoric agricultural terraces and house sites, but Nihoa was apparently uninhabited at the time of European contact.

The cliffs of Tanager Peak, looking east from Miller Peak.

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 were made 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.

External links

[Nihoa Island] (with pictures & a map)
[Nihoa Island]
[Quick Facts on Nihoa Island from the PBS Ocean Adventures site]

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