Oahu

Oahu or O'ahu, known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to about two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. Including small close-in offshore islands such as Ford Island and the islands in Kāneohe Bay and off the eastern (windward) coast, it has a total land area of 596.7sqmi, making it the 20th largest island in the United States. Along with the rest of the Hawaiian Islands, Oahu is one of the largest and northernmost islands of Polynesia.In the greatest dimension, this volcanic island is 44mi long and 30mi across. The length of the shoreline is 227mi. The island is the result of two separate shield volcanoes: the Waianae and Koolau Ranges, with a broad "valley" or saddle (the central Oahu Plain) between them. The highest point is Kaala in the Waianae Range, rising to 4003ft above sea level''.IntroductionThe island is home to 953,207 people in 2010 . Oahu has for a long time been known as the "Gathering Place". The term Oahu has no confirmed meaning in Hawaiian, other than that of the place itself. Ancient Hawaiian tradition attributes the name's origin in the legend of Hawaiiloa, the Polynesian navigator credited with discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. The story relates that he named the island after a son.