USGS Pacific Coral Reefs Website

Ni‘ihau

Landsat satellite image from NASA

Situated 32 km (20 mi) west of the island of Kaua‘i, across the Kaulakahi Channel, is the privately owned island of Ni‘ihau. With a total area of only 181 sq km (70 sq mi) Ni‘ihau is the seventh largest of the main eight Hawaiian Islands. Known as the Distant Isle, access to Ni‘ihau is limited to the approximately 250 native-speaking Hawaiian-ancestry residents who work on the privately owned ranch. Because of this limited access, Ni‘ihau is also sometimes known as the Forbidden Island.

Currently the USGS does not have any coral reef studies on this island.

| Ni‘ihau | Kaua‘i | O‘ahu | Moloka‘i | Lāna‘i | Kaho‘olawe | Maui | Hawai‘i | Guam |

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