Hawaii is a place.
Hawaii . Hawaii is the only U.S. state located in Oceania and the only one composed entirely of islands . Hawaii is the only U.S. state not located in the Americas . At the southeastern end of the archipelago , the eight main islands are -- in order from northwest to southeast : Niihau , Kauai , Oahu , Molokai , Lānai , Kahoolawe , Maui , and the Island of Hawaii . The last is the largest island in the group ; it is often called the `` Big Island '' or `` Hawaii Island '' to avoid confusion with the state or archipelago . Hawaii is the 8th-smallest and the 11th-least populous , but the 13th-most densely populated of the fifty U.S. states .