About O‘ahu County
O‘ahu, known as "The Gathering Place," is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and has the largest population (905,000). The city of Honolulu, largest city, state capital and main deepwater marine port for the State of Hawai‘i is located on O‘ahu. The entire island of O‘ahu is the jurisdictional unit, the City and County of Honolulu.
The island of O'ahu is the result of two separate volcanoes (Wai‘anae and Ko‘olau), is 44 miles long and 30 miles across, and has a land area of 596.7 square miles and a shoreline of 227 miles. Average temperature is 75-85 degrees Fahrenheit. Well-known places found on O‘ahu include Waikiki, Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head, I‘olani Palace, Pali Lookout, Hanauma Bay, North Shore and Sandy Beach. Rich in traditions and a unique blend of cultures, O‘ahu has become a tourist and shopping destination for over 5 million visitors annually.
Hawai‘i State Department of Agriculture estimates market value of O‘ahu agricultural products sold is nearly 126,000 million; total for the State of Hawai‘i is nearly 514 million. O‘ahu products include eggplant, green onion, watermelon, banana, papaya, sweet corn, cucumber, daikon, lettuce, romaine, Italian squash, sweet potato, taro, tomato, watercress, chinese cabbage, bitter melon, pumpkin, oriental squashes and mustard cabbage.
On O‘ahu, the Hawai‘i Farm Bureau Federation sponsors Farmers' Markets at 5 sites and the City and County of Honolulu sponsors People's Open Markets at 25 sites. Locally grown and ethnic fruits and vegetables are available at these markets.
The public system of higher education in Hawai‘i is the university of Hawai‘i System. The UH System includes 10 campuses and educational, training and research centers across the state. O‘ahu is home tot he University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, University of Hawai‘i - West O‘ahu, Honolulu Community College, Kapi‘olani Community College, Leeward Community College, Windward Community College and Wai'anae Education Center. UH offers a range of higher education from certificate and vocational, undergraduate through doctoral programs. UH promotes economic growth and diversification and stimulates the local economy with jobs, research and skilled workers.
Located on O‘ahu, the University of Hawai‘i at manoa is both a Carnegie Research Institution and a Land Grant College. The College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), established in 1907, is the founding college of University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. CTAHR is federally mandated to fulfill the University's three part Land Grant mission of instruction, scientific research and outreach to address state needs. As the outreach arm for CTAHR at UH Manoa, the Cooperative Extension Service (CES) is located in all 4 Counties: O‘ahu (City and County of Honolulu), Mau‘i, Kaua‘i, and Hawai‘i. O‘ahu Cooperative Extension, with CES in other Counties, continues to "put knowledge to work" by taking research, making it generally understandable and delivering this science-based knowledge to consumers, farmers, gardeners and agricultural processors and retailers.
References: University of Hawai‘i web site, Wikipedia web site, State of Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture web site, Hawai‘i Farm Bureau Federation web site, State of Hawai‘i Data Book web site, Visit-O‘ahu web site.