Kauai Facts

Facts About the Island of Kauai

Nickname: The Garden Island
Square Miles: 562.3 square miles (1430.4 km)
Size: 33 miles wide and 25 miles across
Origin: Volcanic
Climate: 75 to 85 degrees year-round
Highest point: Kawaikini – 5,243 ft (about 1 mile) (1,598 m)
Population: 72,418 (2020)
County Seat: Lihue
Largest Town: Kapaa (11,000)
Time Zone: Hawaii Standard Time (there is no Daylight Savings Time on Kauai)
Languages: English, Hawaiian, Tagolag and other Asian languages.
Currency: U.S. Dollar
Official Flower: Mokihana
Official Color: Purple (Poni)
Official Bird: Nene (State of Hawaii) (According to a local joke, the helicopter is the official bird of Kauai due to the number of helicopter tours on the island.)

More Kauai Fun Facts

1. Kauai is perhaps the wettest place on Earth.
2. Kauai has Hawaii’s only navigable river (Wailua River).
3. Kauai is the oldest of the Hawaiian islands at approximately 5-6 million years old.
4. Kauai is home to thousands of wild chickens.
5. Kauai has the world’s highest elevation swamp.
6. Kauai has a canyon so large that it is known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.
7. Kauai has 17 miles of sea cliffs on the Na Pali Coast.
8. Kauai has a tree tunnel you can drive through that is lined with more than 500 Eucalyptus trees.
9. Kauai’s North Shore has seven one-lane bridges, including the scenic Hanalei Bridge.
10. Approximately 70 percent of the island of Kauai is inaccessible by foot.
11. Kauai receives approximately 1.1 million visitors per year.
12. More than 75 movies have been filmed on Kauai, including Pirates of the Caribbean, Jurassic Park, The Descendants and South Pacific.
13. The cliff jumping scene in Six Days, Seven Nights, starring Harrison Ford and Anne Heche, was filmed at Shipwreck Beach near the Grand Hyatt Kauai.
14. Kauai is the birthplace of the ancient art of Hula.
15. The Gilligan’s Island pilot and first episode were filmed at Kauai’s Moloaa Beach in November 1963.
16. An official government landmark plaque claims an ancient race of Hawaiian dwarfs built an ancient waterway on Kauai’s west side.
17. There is a volcanic cone in a field in Poipu and there is also a resort built into a volcanic crater in Poipu.
18. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and wife own more than 1,400 acres on Kauai’s North Shore.
19. However, Zuckerberg isn’t the largest famous landowner. AOL founder Steve Case owns approximately 22,000 acres in southern Kauai.
20. Singer Bette Midler owns 1,400 acres in Kapaa (where the Kapaa Bypass roadway runs through).