About Kauai

Points of Interest at a Glance

• Captain Cook’s Landing – Waimea
• Menehune Fish Pond – Niumalu
• Fern Grotto
• Old Russian Fort (Fort Elizabeth)
• Grove Farm Homestead
• Opaekaa Falls
• Kalalau Lookout
• Smith’s Tropical Paradise
• Kamokila Hawaiian Village
• Waimea Canyon
• Kauai Museum
• Waioli Mission House

• Includes the islands of Kauaâ??i, Niâ??ihau and uninhabited Lehua and Kaâ??ula.

• Kauaâ??i is known as the “Garden Island” and has a land area of 552.3 square miles.

• Niâ??ihau is privately owned and sometimes called the “Forbidden Island”. Public access is allowed only with permission of the owners. Its land area is 69.5 square miles.

• Geologically, Kauaâ??i is the oldest of Hawaiâ??i’s major islands and the site of the first Hawaiâ??i landing by Captain James Cook in 1778.

• Many movies with South Seas and Asian settings have been filmed on the beaches and in the valleys of Kauaâ??i.

• Average temperatures at Lihuâ??e Airport range from 70° to 81°F.

• The summit of Waiâ??aleâ??ale is among the wettest spots in the world with an average rainfall of 444 inches per year. Average rainfall at Poâ??ipu Beach is 35 inches per year.

• Kauaâ??i’s flower is a green berry known as mokihana. Niâ??ihau’s flower is a small shell called pupu.

POPULATION

Resident population for the county (2003): 60,747
By age (2003): Under 18 (25%); 18-64 (60.9); 65 and over (14.1) 
By ethnic groups (2003): Caucasian (31.9%); Hawaiian/Part Hawaiian (22.6); Filipino (16.5); Japanese (11.7)
Main cities and towns (2000): Kapaâ??a (9,472); Lihuâ??e (5,674)

TOURISM

Visitor arrivals (2003): 975,867

Scenic wonders include Waimea Canyon, Hanalei Valley, Kokeâ??e State Park, Fern Grotto, many stunning beaches and, for the intrepid, Kalalau Valley.

AGRICULTURE

Important products are sugarcane, fruit, vegetables, taro and beef.

Aquaculture (2003): 4 operations

HEALTH

Licenses (2004): 137 doctors, 36 dentists, 474 nurses and 47 pharmacists

EDUCATION

Kauaâ??i Community College offers a two-year associate degree and is part of the University of Hawaiâ??i system.

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS (2003) 

4 banks with 15 branches, and 2 savings and loans with 7 branches.

PRINT AND BROADCAST MEDIA

Principal newspaper is the Garden Island. There are 2 AM and 5 FM radio stations. Television is relayed from Honolulu. In 2004, there was 1 cable station with 21,357 subscribers.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The Pacific Missile Range Facility supports a wide variety of training exercises and developmental tests in 42,000 square miles of sea and air space that is virtually encroachment free.

The West Kauaâ??i Technology and Visitor Center houses high technology companies and offers interactive tours of Kauaâ??i.

GOVERNMENT

Mayor: Bryan J. Baptiste; seven-member county council (www.kauaigov.org)