City North America
Honolulu
Honolulu is a city on an island in the Pacific Ocean. It is the capital of Hawaii. Tall hotels line a sandy beach called Waikīkī.
Honolulu is the capital of Hawaii, a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean that became the 50th US state in 1959. Hawaii's monarchs once lived in its ʻIolani Palace, and an old volcanic crater called Diamond Head rises beside Waikīkī. The US Census Bureau estimated 341,868 people in Urban Honolulu in July 2025.
Honolulu, on Oʻahu, was home to the Hawaiian Kingdom's monarchs, who lived in ʻIolani Palace (completed 1882), and has been the capital of the State of Hawaii since statehood on 21 August 1959. Diamond Head, a tuff crater about 300,000 years old, frames Waikīkī. The Census Bureau's estimate for Urban Honolulu was 341,868 on 1 July 2025.
Photo: Farragutful, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Honolulu
Honolulu is a city in Hawaii. Hawaii is a group of islands far out in the Pacific Ocean.
Hawaii is one of the 50 states of the United States.
Honolulu is on the island of Oʻahu, one of the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It is the capital of Hawaii, which became the 50th state of the United States on 21 August 1959, the National Archives records.
The US Census Bureau counts Honolulu as 'Urban Honolulu', a community inside Honolulu County. Its estimate for 1 July 2025 was 341,868 people in Urban Honolulu and 988,703 in the whole county.
The Census Bureau treats Honolulu as a census-designated place, Urban Honolulu CDP, inside Honolulu County. Its Vintage 2025 estimates give 341,868 for Urban Honolulu and 988,703 for the county on 1 July 2025, out of 1,432,820 in the State of Hawaii.
The National Archives' statehood feature notes that Hawaii became the 50th state on 21 August 1959, after what it calls a 'long and often challenged path to statehood', with records from Queen Liliʻuokalani, territorial legislators, students and Congress.
- Country and state
- United States; capital of Hawaii (the 50th state, since 1959)
- People in Urban Honolulu (estimate, 1 July 2025)
- 341,868
- People in Honolulu County (estimate, 1 July 2025)
- 988,703
- Island
- Oʻahu
A palace and a crater
A king and a queen of Hawaii once lived in ʻIolani Palace.
Near the beach is Diamond Head. It is an old crater made by a volcano.
ʻIolani Palace, in downtown Honolulu, was finished in 1882. It was the official home of Hawaii's monarchs, King Kalākaua and his sister Queen Liliʻuokalani, who held balls and welcomed visitors from around the world there.
At the eastern edge of Waikīkī's coast rises Diamond Head, or Lēʻahi. Hawaii's state parks division says this wide, saucer-shaped crater formed about 300,000 years ago in a single explosive eruption. Ash settled and cemented into a rock called tuff.
The palace's cornerstone was laid on 31 December 1879 and construction finished in 1882; it was the monarchs' official residence, where they held official functions. The palace's own history says it later served as the capitol for almost 80 years, was vacated and restored in the 1970s, and is a National Historic Landmark.
The Division of State Parks calls Diamond Head (Lēʻahi) Hawaii's most recognized landmark. The State Monument covers over 475 acres of the crater's inner and outer slopes; most of its plants and birds were introduced in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
- ʻIolani Palace
- cornerstone laid 31 December 1879; completed 1882
- Diamond Head (Lēʻahi) crater
- formed about 300,000 years ago in a single explosive eruption
- Diamond Head State Monument
- over 475 acres, inside and outside the crater
From kingdom to state
Long ago, Hawaii was a kingdom with its own king or queen.
Later, Hawaii became part of the United States.
In Honolulu, the Hawaiian Kingdom's monarchs lived in ʻIolani Palace. Queen Liliʻuokalani followed her brother, King Kalākaua, on the throne in 1891. After the monarchy was overthrown, ʻIolani Palace became the government's headquarters.
Hawaii then became a territory of the United States; the National Archives holds President William McKinley's 1900 nomination of a governor for the Territory of Hawaii. On 21 August 1959 Hawaii became the 50th state, with Honolulu as its capital.
The palace's history says Queen Liliʻuokalani succeeded her brother on 20 January 1891 and was determined to strengthen the monarchy's political power; the Committee of Safety opposed her and later organized the overthrow of the monarchy and a provisional government, with the support of the American Minister to Hawaiʻi. The palace's history also recalls her imprisonment.
The palace then housed the Provisional Government and, in turn, the capitol of the Republic, the Territory and the State of Hawaii. The National Archives' records run from the queen's 1898 letter of protest to Congress, through the territorial governor's nomination in 1900, to statehood on 21 August 1959.
- Last monarchs
- King Kalākaua and Queen Liliʻuokalani (from 20 January 1891)
- Territory of Hawaii
- governor nominated 4 May 1900 (Sanford B. Dole)
- Statehood
- 21 August 1959, the 50th state
Trolleys then, Skyline now
Honolulu has a new train called Skyline. It runs on a track high above the ground.
The trains drive themselves, with no driver on board!
Honolulu's Skyline is a rail line built high above the streets. UrbanRail reports that its first part opened on 30 June 2023 and was extended in October 2025. Its trains are driverless. The full 32-kilometer line is planned to reach Ala Moana Center by 2031.
Honolulu had trolleys long before Skyline. In 1904 the Honolulu Rapid Transit and Land Company opened an aquarium at the end of its new trolley line in Kapiʻolani Park, to tempt people to ride all the way there.
UrbanRail describes Skyline as a 32 km elevated rapid transit line from Kualakaʻi (East Kapolei) to Kalia (Ala Moana Center), under construction since February 2011 and now scheduled for completion in 2031, with 80 driverless vehicles. The first section to Hālawa opened on 30 June 2023 (service from 1 July), and an 8.5 km extension to Kahauiki on 16 October 2025.
The Waikīkī Aquarium's history says the transit company built the Honolulu Aquarium partly to entice passengers to the end of its new trolley line in Kapiʻolani Park; the terminus stood across Kalākaua Avenue.
- Skyline rail opened
- 30 June 2023 (official opening); service from 1 July 2023
- Skyline trains
- elevated line with 80 driverless vehicles
- Trolley to Kapiʻolani Park
- the aquarium opened at its end on 19 March 1904
Warm all year
Honolulu is warm all year long. Even winter days are warm.
The wettest month is December.
The World Meteorological Organization's averages for 1981 to 2010 give Honolulu days of about 27 °C in January and about 32 °C in August, the warmest month. Nights average about 19 °C in January and 24 °C in August.
A year brings about 434 millimeters of rain. Most of it falls from October to March. December is the wettest month and June the driest.
WMO averages for 1981–2010 give highs and lows of 26.7 °C and 19.1 °C in January and 31.5 °C and 23.9 °C in August; February has the lowest average low (18.9 °C). Highs stay between 26.7 °C and 31.5 °C all year.
The monthly rainfall averages add up to about 434 mm, with December the wettest (82.3 mm) and June the driest (6.6 mm); October to March bring about 351 mm of the total.
- August, average daily high and low (WMO, 1981–2010)
- 31.5 °C and 23.9 °C
- January, average daily high and low (WMO, 1981–2010)
- 26.7 °C and 19.1 °C
- Rain in a year (sum of the monthly averages)
- about 434 mm
Beaches, trails and reefs
Many people climb a steep trail to the top of Diamond Head. From the top they can see the beach and the city.
In winter, they may even spot whales!
The trail to the top of Diamond Head was built in 1908 as part of Oʻahu's coastal defenses. Today it is a steep 0.8-mile hike that climbs 560 feet, through a lighted tunnel and up stairs to old bunkers and a lighthouse. The state parks division says more than 3,000 people visit each day, and in winter hikers may see humpback whales passing.
In Kapiʻolani Park, the Waikīkī Aquarium opened in 1904 to 'show the world the riches of Hawaii's reefs'. It began with 35 tanks and 400 marine organisms.
The Division of State Parks describes the 1908 summit trail: 0.8 mile and 560 feet of climb from the crater floor, a 225-foot lighted tunnel, the Fire Control Station completed in 1911, bunkers and a navigational lighthouse built in 1917, and a view of the shore from Koko Head to Waiʻanae, with humpback whales in winter. It counts more than 3,000 visitors a day.
The aquarium, opened on 19 March 1904 and taken over by the University of Hawaiʻi in 1919, calls itself the second-oldest public aquarium in the United States; Potter's angelfish is named after its first director, Frederick A. Potter.
- Diamond Head Summit Trail
- built in 1908; 0.8 mile, climbing 560 feet
- Visitors to Diamond Head
- more than 3,000 people a day
- Waikīkī Aquarium
- opened 1904 with 35 tanks and 400 marine organisms
Honolulu on the map
Find the Pacific Ocean on the globe. Far out in the ocean are the islands of Hawaii.
Honolulu is on the island of Oʻahu.
Honolulu is on the south shore of Oʻahu, one of the Hawaiian Islands, far out in the North Pacific Ocean.
Measured from ʻIolani Palace downtown, Waikīkī is about 5 kilometers to the southeast, Diamond Head about 7 kilometers to the southeast, and the international airport about 7 kilometers to the west-northwest.
Honolulu lies at about 21.3° N and 157.9° W; Wikidata places Waikīkī on Oʻahu's south shore.
Measured from ʻIolani Palace (Wikidata points), Waikīkī is about 4.6 km southeast, Kapiʻolani Park about 5.9 km southeast, Diamond Head about 7.2 km southeast and Daniel K. Inouye International Airport about 6.7 km west-northwest. The hero photo was taken high on Diamond Head, about 2.9 km southeast of Waikīkī, looking northwest.
- Latitude
- about 21.3° north
- Longitude
- about 157.9° west
- Diamond Head
- about 7.2 km southeast of ʻIolani Palace
Amazing facts
-
Honolulu's aquarium was built so more people would ride the trolley!
The Honolulu Aquarium opened in 1904 at the end of a new trolley line, partly to get more people to ride the trolley all the way there.
The Waikīkī Aquarium's history says the Honolulu Rapid Transit and Land Company opened it in 1904 partly to entice passengers to ride to the end of its new trolley line in Kapiʻolani Park.
-
The path up Diamond Head goes through a tunnel!
On the way up Diamond Head, hikers walk through a lighted tunnel 225 feet long.
The summit trail passes through a lighted 225-foot tunnel into the Fire Control Station, completed in 1911 as part of Oʻahu's old coastal defenses.
-
A little fish is named after the first boss of Honolulu's aquarium.
Potter's angelfish is named after Frederick A. Potter, the aquarium's first director, who ran it from 1904 until 1940.
Frederick A. Potter, a transit-company clerk with no formal marine training, directed the aquarium from 1904 to May 1940; Centropyge potteri, Potter's angelfish, honors him.
-
Diamond Head's rock is made of volcano ash that turned hard.
Diamond Head formed in one explosive eruption. The ash it threw out settled and cemented together into a rock called tuff.
The state parks division explains that Diamond Head formed about 300,000 years ago in a single explosive eruption whose ash and fine particles settled and cemented into tuff.
Words to know
- crater
- a bowl-shaped hollow, often made by a volcano
- tuff
- rock made of volcanic ash that has settled and hardened
- monarch
- a king or queen
- capitol
- the building where a state's lawmakers meet
- driverless
- run by computers, with no driver at the controls
- census-designated place
- an area the US Census Bureau counts as a community, even though it has no city government of its own
Discovery challenge
-
Honolulu is the capital of which US state?
Honolulu is the capital of which US state?
Honolulu is the capital of which state, admitted on 21 August 1959?
- Hawaii
- Alaska
- Texas
Show the answer
Hawaii
Hawaii!
Hawaii, the 50th state.
Hawaii, the 50th state.
-
What made Diamond Head?
What formed the crater of Diamond Head about 300,000 years ago?
What single event formed Diamond Head's tuff crater about 300,000 years ago?
- A glacier
- A volcanic eruption
- A river
Show the answer
A volcanic eruption
A volcano!
One explosive volcanic eruption.
A single explosive eruption; its ash cemented into tuff.
-
Who once lived in ʻIolani Palace?
ʻIolani Palace was the official home of whom?
ʻIolani Palace, completed in 1882, was the official residence of whom?
- Hawaii's king and queen
- Astronauts
- Pirates
Show the answer
Hawaii's king and queen
A king and a queen!
Hawaii's monarchs, King Kalākaua and his sister Queen Liliʻuokalani.
The Hawaiian monarchs, including Kalākaua and Liliʻuokalani.
-
What is special about Skyline trains?
What is special about the trains on Honolulu's Skyline line?
UrbanRail lists 80 vehicles for Skyline, opened in 2023; what is special about them?
- They float on water
- They have no drivers
- They are pulled by horses
Show the answer
They have no drivers
They drive themselves!
They are driverless.
They are driverless.
-
Which month brings the most rain to Honolulu?
Which month is the wettest in Honolulu, on average?
Which month brings 82.3 mm of Honolulu's roughly 434 mm a year (WMO, 1981–2010)?
- June
- August
- December
Show the answer
December
December!
December. June is the driest.
December (82.3 mm); June is the driest (6.6 mm).
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Honolulu on Oʻahu, in the North Pacific Ocean.
- Describe how Hawaii went from a kingdom to the 50th US state.
- Explain how a volcanic eruption can form a crater of tuff.
- Compare monthly temperatures in a place that is warm all year.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- ʻIolani Palace was a royal home and later a capitol building. How can one building tell the story of a place?
- Honolulu built an aquarium to get people onto its trolley. What would make you want to ride a train or bus?
- Honolulu is warm in every month. How might that change what people do in winter?
Try at home or in class
- Ash layers: sprinkle layers of sand and flour in a clear cup and see how settled layers can build up, like the ash that made Diamond Head.
- Temperature chart: plot Honolulu's monthly highs and lows and compare them with your own town's.
- Island map: draw Oʻahu and mark Honolulu, Waikīkī and Diamond Head on its south shore.
Key vocabulary: crater, tuff, monarch, capitol, driverless, census-designated place
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Vintage 2025 population estimates for Hawaii's counties and places (sub-est2025_15.csv) , US Census Bureau
- Hawaii Statehood, August 21, 1959 , US National Archives, Center for Legislative Archives
- History of ʻIolani Palace , ʻIolani Palace (The Friends of ʻIolani Palace)
- Diamond Head State Monument , Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of State Parks
- Honolulu Rapid Transit: Skyline , UrbanRail.Net (Robert Schwandl)
- History , Waikīkī Aquarium, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
- File:2022 Views from Diamond Head 02.jpg (Farragutful, 14 January 2022) , Wikimedia Commons
- Honolulu, Hawaii: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.