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{{Short description|Island in Hawaii}}
{{for|the genus of spiders of the same name|Nihoa (spider)}}
{{distinguish|text=[[wikt:nǐhǎo|Nihao]] or [[Ni‘ihau]]}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox islands
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[[File:Hawaiianislandchain_USGS.png|thumb|upright=1.4|Map showing the location of Nihoa in the Hawaiian island chain]]
'''Nihoa''' ({{IPAc-en|n|iː|ˈ|h|oʊ|.|ə}}; {{lang-haw|Nīhoa}} {{IPA
The island is home to 25 species of plants and several animals, making it the most diverse island in the entire NWHI. Endemic birds like the [[Nihoa finch]] and [[Nihoa millerbird]], and endemic plants like ''[[Pritchardia remota]]'' and ''[[Schiedea verticillata]]'' are found only on Nihoa. ''[[Amaranthus brownii]]'' was considered the rarest plant on Nihoa and has not been directly observed on the island since 1983, and is now considered to be extinct. The plant communities and rocky outcrops provide nesting and perching areas for 18 species of seabirds, such as [[red-footed boobies]] and [[brown noddies]], terns, shearwaters, and petrels. Prehistoric evidence indicates Native Hawaiians lived on or visited the island around AD 1000, but over time the location of Nihoa was mostly forgotten, with only an oral legend preserving its name. Captain [[James Colnett]] rediscovered the island in 1788, and [[Kaʻahumanu|Queen Kaʻahumanu]] visited it in 1822. It was made part of the [[Kingdom of Hawaii]] by [[Kamehameha IV|King Kamehameha IV]].
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The island is about 1371 meters long going from east to west, and 274–914 meters wide.<ref name=USFWS/> The overall shape is that of half saddle, with one side having sheer cliffs and the other sloping towards the ocean.<ref name=USFWS/><ref name="Rauzon8">{{harvnb|Rauzon|2001|p=8}}. Captain William Douglas, the second Western explorer to find Nihoa, describes the island as "[bearing] the form of a saddle, high at each end, and low in the middle. To the south, it is covered with verdure; but on the north, west, and east sides it is a barren rock, perpendicularly steep..."</ref>
==Ecology==
[[File:Millerbird2.jpg|thumb|Nihoa millerbird]]
[[File:Nihoa Pritchardia remota.jpg|thumb|Nihoan fan palms]]
Nihoa's inaccessibility and lack of major [[guano]] deposits made the island unattractive to humans, helping to preserve its [[Endemism|endemic]] species from extinction. Because of Nihoa's small size, most of its endemic organisms are [[endangered species|endangered]], as one single disaster, such as an island-wide fire or an introduction of [[invasive species]], could wipe out the whole population. One such invasive species is the [[Schistocerca nitens|gray bird grasshopper]], ''Schistocerca nitens''; from the period between 1999 and 2003, grasshoppers devastated much of the vegetation on the island and posed a real threat to the continued health of plants on Nihoa.<ref name="Litts">{{harvnb|Liittschwager|Middleton|2005|p=94}}</ref> The following year, the numbers decreased and the vegetation became lush again. The grasshoppers probably came to Nihoa by way of wind from [[Kauai]].
The north side of the island's cliffs are mostly bare, but the sloping valleys are covered with a variety of grasses and shrubs.<ref name=USFWS/> The two most common grasses on these slopes are ''Eragrosis Varabilis'' and ''Panicum torridum''.<ref name=USFWS/>
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* {{cite book| last = Juvik| first = Sonia P.|author2=James O. Juvik |author3=Thomas R. Paradise | title = Atlas of Hawaii| publisher = University of Hawaii Press| year = 1998| isbn = 978-0-8248-2125-8 }}
* {{cite book |last=Kirch |first= Patrick Vinton |title=Feathered Gods and Fishhooks: An Introduction to Hawaiian Archaeology and Prehistory |author-link=Patrick Vinton Kirch |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=9780824819385|year=1985 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Lebo |first=Susan A. |author2=Kevin T.M. Johnson |year=2007 |title=Geochemical sourcing of rock specimens and stone artifacts from Nihoa and Necker Islands,
* {{cite journal |last=Olson |first=Storrs L. |year=1996 |title=History and ornithological journals of the ''Tanager'' Expedition of 1923 to the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Johnston and Wake islands |journal=Atoll Research Bulletin |volume=433 |issue=433 |pages=1–210 |url=http://si-pddr.si.edu/jspui/handle/10088/5880|publisher=[[National Museum of Natural History]]|doi=10.5479/si.00775630.433.1 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Palmer |first=H. S. |year=1927 |title=Geology of Kaula, Nihoa, Necker and Gardner Islands, and French Frigate Shoals |journal=Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin |volume=35 |series=Tanager Expedition Publication Number 4 }}
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