Hawaii is an island state of the United States located in the central Pacific Ocean, about 2,000 to 2,400 miles southwest of the U.S. mainland (California coast) and roughly 3,700 to 3,860 kilometers from the western coast of the U.S.

. It is the only U.S. state not situated on the North American mainland and is the southernmost state in the union. Geographically, Hawaii consists of 137 volcanic islands forming the Hawaiian archipelago, spanning about 1,500 miles (2,400 km) and lying just a few degrees south of the Tropic of Cancer at coordinates approximately 21.5°N latitude and 158°W longitude

. The eight main islands include Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui, and Hawaiʻi (the "Big Island")

. Hawaii lies roughly:

• 2,392 miles west of San Francisco
• 2,800 miles south of Alaska
• 2,600 miles north of Tahiti
• Nearly 4,000 miles southeast of Tokyo

Its capital and largest city is Honolulu, located on the island of Oʻahu

. In summary, Hawaii is a remote tropical archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, and the only U.S. state composed entirely of islands