🏝️ Niʻihau

Niʻihau, sometimes written Niihau, is the seventh largest island in Hawaii and the westernmost of the main islands. It is 17.5 miles (28.2 km) southwest of Kauaʻi across the Kaulakahi Channel. Its area is 69.5 square miles (180 km2). Several intermittent playa lakes provide wetland habitats for the Hawaiian coot, the Hawaiian stilt, and the Hawaiian duck. The island is designated as critical habitat for Brighamia insignis, an endemic and endangered species of Hawaiian lobelioid. The United States Census Bureau defines Niihau and the neighboring island and State Seabird Sanctuary of Lehua as Census Tract 410 of Kauaʻi County, Hawaii. Its 2010 census population was 170, most of them Native Hawaiians. As of the 2020 census, the population had fallen to 84. The people of Niʻihau are noted for their gemlike lei pūpū craftsmanship. They speak Hawaiian as a primary language, being the only place where Hawaiian has not been in any way displaced by English.