Ka Lae (South Point)

Ka Lae - Hawaiian for "the point," and also called South Point - is a windswept volcanic headland at the southern tip of the Big Island of Hawaii, and the southernmost point of the fifty states, at about 18.9 degrees north. Sea cliffs drop straight into a deep blue ocean swept by powerful currents, with nothing but open Pacific between here and Antarctica.

It is also one of the most important places in the human story of the Pacific: many archaeologists believe Ka Lae was among the first spots in the Hawaiian Islands settled by Polynesian voyagers, perhaps as early as around 400 to 800 CE. Ancient canoe moorings carved into the rock still survive. Today the relentless wind drives a cluster of turbines, and the cliffs draw cliff-jumpers and anglers to the literal end of the United States.

• Hawaii
  A volcanic island chain in the central Pacific related