Oahu contains Honolulu and is the most populated island in Hawaii.
Oahu is the third-largest Hawaiian island by area, after Hawaii Island and Maui, but it is the state’s principal population and economic center. Honolulu, Hawaii’s capital, stretches along the island’s southern coast and includes the famous Waikiki district.
The island is dominated by two major volcanic mountain ranges: the Koʻolau Range and the Waiʻanae Range. Diamond Head, an eroded volcanic crater beside Waikiki, is one of Oahu’s best-known landmarks.
Pearl Harbor is also on Oahu. The December 7, 1941, attack on the naval base brought the United States into World War II. Oahu is therefore both a major tourism destination and an important site in modern history.