David Gerfen, age 11, of Cushing, Okla,, for his question;

When was Hawaii discovered and settled?

The geological history of our 50th state begins in the dim, distant past. It helps us to understand why it whs discovered by man only in the past thousand years. The story begins on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, some 15,000 feet below the surface. A series of volcanos erupted in the seabed and with each eruption a pile of lava was left to harden in a solid hump„ Through the ages, perhaps when the dinosaurs were walking the earth, the volcanic piles grew into undersea mountains.

 At lasts some of them reached surface and became volcanic islands.  Still they erupted, growing bigger with each flow of lava from deep in the earths crust, But now they were islands, able to support land plants and animals. Seeds and spores drifted on winds and currents. Insects and  animals floated ashore on logs and trees from distant shores. The lava made rich soil and these Pacific islands, far,, far from lands were tropical gardens long before man discovered them.

Far to the west and the southwest there were men in Asia. And man dared to roam the seas long before he had steam boats or even sail boats. Human families set off to explore the wide Pacific in simple row boats and most of the Pacific islands had been discovered and settled before Magellan sailed around the world.

The Hawaiian Islands were discovered and first settled more than 1,000 years ago. The original settlers were called Menehunes and they came from islands already settled far to the south. They were farmers and builders and some of their masonry still stands, though in ruins,

Around the 11th century, the islands were again discovered, this time by people who came all the way by boat from the southern island of Tahiti. Sad to say, they fought and conquered the Menehunes and the Hawaiians we know today are discended from these emigrants from Tahiti.

Both the Menehunes and the Hawaiians were Polynesian peoples, brown and sturdy. The newcomers, however, were taller and stronger than the original settlers.

The Hawaiians made trips back and forth between Tahiti and their new home. They to k from Tahiti many plants, fruits, flowers and even animals to help them galu established. When they were discovered by European explorers, they were self supporting on the rich and beautiful volcanic isles.

There is evidence that the island were sighted by a Spanish ship in the year 1555. But the first authentic record comes from Captain James Cook who made a landing there in the year 1778. He named them the Sandwich Islands in honor of the English Earl of Sandwich.

In the next 100 years, trade boomed between the New World and Asia. The mid ocean islands became a trading post and way station. The population was increased by settlers from the Old World and the New, Today, only 16% of the people are descended from Hawaiian ancestors. The island population is a wonderful mixture of Japanese, Hawaiians, Portuguese, Filipinos, Chinese, Puerto Ricans and Koreans   and all of them are Americans.