Nihoa

Nihoa (also known as Moku Manu ) is a small uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean. It represents as it were the highest and most easterly of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands dar. Nihoa is located approximately 300 km south-east of Necker Iceland and about 450 km north- west of Honolulu on Oahu, the most populous of the Hawaiian islands.

Geography

Nihoas surface consists of 70 acres ( exactly 701 054 m²) dry land, surrounded by about 570 km ² coral reef. The north and the west coast of the 1.6 km long and up to 1.1 km wide island is characterized by steep cliffs that rise steeply from the sea. The island has two peaks: the Miller's peak with 273 m and the Tanager peak at 260 m height. It's like all the islands of Hawaii's volcanic origin; their age is estimated to be 7.2 million years.

• Views

Kliff Tanager peaks

Nihoa up close (1969 )

History

Nihoa was already for the early Hawaiians important and evidenced by archaeological findings that already existed primitive agricultural terraces and houses on Nihoa. Colonized the island was about 1000 to 1700 AD.

" Rediscovered " was the island on March 21, 1788 by British Captain James Colnett on the Prince of Wales. Since it was set but later captured by the Spaniards, was long regarded the British Captain William Douglas as the discoverer, of the approximately one year later sighted the island on March 19, 1789 and Bird Iceland (English " bird island " ) was baptizing. On April 23, 1857 Hawaiian King Kamehameha IV landed on the island and took possession.

The first archaeological investigations began during the Tanager Expedition in 1924. Due to the use of the island by the ancient Hawaiian cultures for their own purposes the Island in 1988 as Nihoa Iceland Archeological District in the National Register of Historic Places, was the register of historically significant Cities of the United States annexed.

Nihoa may be entered only with special permission from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services for scientific purposes today.

Animal and plant life ( flora and fauna)

Nihoa is known for its endemic plant and animal species. As the only tree on the island mostly covered with bushes and undergrowth, the Nihoa Fan Palm occurs ( Pritchardia remota ). On Nihoa an endangered species of Amaranth, Amaranthus brownii also found ( endemic), the endemic Hawaiian Ilima - shrub ( Sida fallax ) and a nelsonii of only ten populations of Solanum, a rare type of nightshade (Solanum ).

Also, two bird species exclusively on Nihoa: The Nihoagimpel ( Telespiza ultima ) and the Nihoarohrsänger (Acrocephalus familiaris kingi ), a subspecies of Hawaii - warbler. The island is also a breeding area for many seabirds, such as the Bindenfregattvogels ( Fregata minor) or Schwarzfußalbatros ( Phoebastria nigripes ). The world's largest breeding colonies on Nihoa Tristram wave runners ( Oceanodroma tristrami ), a species of petrels, Bulwer 's Petrel ( Bulweria bulwerii ) and the Blaunoddi ( Procelsterna cerulea ).

Nihoagimpel

Ilima - shrub, Tanager Peak in the background

Endemic Pritchardia remota Palms

In the island of coral reef 17 species live stony corals ( Scleractinia ). In addition, as the Oplegnathus some are otherwise in Hawaii rather rare fish quite often, punctatus.