United States
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
186km²
Area
91km
Coastline
381m
Highest point
Pānīʻau
130
People
27°C
Warmest sea
September
3,641km
To the mainland
When to go to Niʻihau
Best for the beach in January and from May to August.
The sea is warmest in September (27 °C) and coolest in February (24 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Hawaii, United States of America
Niʻihau is an volcanic island in United States. It belongs to Hawaiian Islands. It covers 186 km², with 91 km of coastline. Its highest point, Pānīʻau, rises to 381 m. About 130 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 3,641 km away.
Getting there
- Lihue Airport (LIH)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 86 km in a straight lineCar hire at LIH airport (Lihue, Kauai)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 3,641 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- January and from May to Augustbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Niʻihau.
- 16beachesNonopapa Beach, Kauwaha Beach, Keawanui Beach and 13 more
- 6named peaksMount Kaeo, Mount Kaunuakala, Kawaewae Hill and 3 more
- 1volcanoesMount Paniau
- 2ruins and archaeological sites
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Niʻihau in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Niʻihau, each with its own numbers.
12beaches and covesCoastya
6mountainsPeakyas
Beach with the warmest sea
27.0°C
Pōleho
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
12 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Pōleho27.0°C
- Kalaoa Beach27.0°C
- Kamalino Beach27.0°C
- Kauwaha Beach27.0°C
- Keamano Beach27.0°C
- Keanahaki Beach27.0°C
- Keawanui Beach27.0°C
- Nonopapa Beach27.0°C
4 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
6 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Pānīʻau
- Kāwaʻewaʻe
- Kāʻeo
- Mauʻuloa
- Puʻulua
- Puʻuʻalalā
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 77 m above the sea. 85 % of it is below 200 m.
- 63 %0–50 m
- 22 %50–200 m
- 15 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 24 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 |
| Night low (°C) | 23 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 24 |
| Sea (°C) | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 25 |
| Rain (mm) | 46 | 62 | 94 | 36 | 31 | 27 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 60 | 61 | 78 |
| Wet days | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 10 |
| Sun h/day | 7.3 | 7.3 | 7.5 | 8.7 | 9.6 | 10.1 | 10.1 | 9.7 | 9.3 | 8.0 | 7.2 | 6.8 |
| Wind (km/h) | 21 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 22 | 22 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +1.4 | +1.7 |
| 2021 | +1.3 | +1.2 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.3 | −0.2 | −0.7 | +0.3 | +0.1 |
| 2022 | +0.8 | +1.5 | +1.7 | +0.9 | +0.4 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.3 |
| 2023 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.6 |
| 2024 | +0.5 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.5 |
| 2025 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +1.6 | +1.2 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.9 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q239743) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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