Hawaii became the 50th state in 1959. It is located in the Pacific Ocean. The Hawaiian Islands comprises eight islands and atolls extending across a distance of 1,500 miles (2,400 km). Of these, eight high islands are considered the "main islands" and are located at the southeastern end of the archipelago. These islands are, in order from the northwest to southeast, Niihau (Niʻihau), Kauai (Kauaʻi), Oahu (Oʻahu), Molokai (Molokaʻi), Lanai (Lānaʻi), Kahoolawe (Kahoʻolawe), Maui (Māui), and Hawaii (Hawaiʻi). The latter is by far the largest, and is very often called the "Big Island" or "Big Isle". The use of that alternative name is often motivated by a desire to avoid ambiguity with "Hawaiʻi" meaning the entire state (all of the islands), as opposed to only that one island.
 

The climate of Hawaii is typical for a tropical area, and is regarded as more subtropical than the latitude would suggest, because of the moderating effect of the surrounding ocean. Temperatures and humidity tend to be less extreme, with summer high temperatures seldom reaching above the upper 80s and winter temperatures (at low elevation) seldom dipping below the mid-60s (16 °C). Snow, although not usually associated with tropics, falls at high elevations on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island in some winter months. Snow only rarely falls on Maui's Haleakala.Mount Waialeale (Waiʻaleʻale), on the island of Kauai, is notable for rainfall, as it has the second highest average annual rainfall on Earth, about 460 inches.