Pearl Harbor | Facts & History - Encyclopedia Britannica

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External Websites

• The National WWII Museum - The Key to the Pacific: The Construction of the Pearl Harbor Naval Base
• Naval History and Heritage Command - What Happened at Pearl Harbor (PDF)
• CORE - Pearl Harbor, the Army Corps of Engineers, and Punahou's Cereus Hedge
• Khan Academy - Pearl Harbor
• National Park Service - Pearl Harbor
• History Learning Site - Pearl Harbor 1941
• Liberty University - Scholars Crossing - A Matter of Accountability: Communication and Coordination Failures Proceeding Pearl HarborFailures Proceeding Pearl Harbor (PDF)
• Spartacus Educational - Pearl Harbor
• Holocaust Encyclopedia - Pearl Harbor

Ask the Chatbot a Question Also known as: Wai Momi Written and fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Dec. 20, 2025 •History Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask the Chatbot Top Questions

What island is Pearl Harbor on?

Pearl Harbor is located on the south side of Oahu, about 6 miles (10 km) west of Honolulu.

What is Pearl Harbor known for in U.S. history?

Pearl Harbor is known for the surprise Japanese air attack on December 7, 1941, which temporarily crippled the U.S. Fleet and led to the United States’ entry into World War II.

What are the main features of Pearl Harbor?

Pearl Harbor features a cloverleaf-shaped, artificially improved harbor with 10 square miles (26 square km) of navigable water, hundreds of anchorages, and covers a land area of more than 10,000 acres (4,000 hectares).

What is the significance of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor?

The USS Arizona sank during the Pearl Harbor Attack in 1941 with a loss of more than 1,100 men. It is now a national memorial, with a white concrete and steel structure spanning its hull, dedicated on May 30, 1962.

What facilities are present at Pearl Harbor today?

Present facilities at Pearl Harbor include a naval shipyard, supply center, and submarine base. The naval supply center is on Pearl City Peninsula.

Pearl Harbor, naval base and headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Honolulu county, southern Oahu Island, Hawaii, U.S. In U.S. history the name recalls the surprise Japanese air attack on December 7, 1941, that temporarily crippled the U.S. Fleet and resulted in the United States’ entry into World War II. (See Pearl Harbor Attack.) Pearl Harbor centers on a cloverleaf-shaped, artificially improved harbor on the southern coast of Oahu, 6 miles (10 km) west of Honolulu. The harbor is virtually surrounded (west to east) by the cities of Ewa, Waipahu, Pearl City, Aiea, and Honolulu. It has 10 square miles (26 square km) of navigable water and hundreds of anchorages and covers a land area of more than 10,000 acres (4,000 hectares). Its four lochs are formed by the Waipio and Pearl City peninsulas and Ford Island. Pearl Harbor Entrance (channel) connects its virtually landlocked bay with the Pacific Ocean.

Pearl Harbor was called Wai Momi (“Pearl Waters”) by the Hawaiians because of the pearl oysters that once grew there. In 1840 Lieutenant Charles Wilkes of the U.S. Navy made the first geodetic survey and urged the dredging of the coral-bar entrance to the harbour. About 30 years later Colonel John McAllister Schofield further recommended that the United States secure harbour rights. A subsequent treaty (1887) granted the United States the exclusive use of the harbour as a coaling and repair station, but work was not begun until after 1898, when the Spanish-American War indicated its strategic value as a Pacific base. A naval station was established after 1908, and a drydock was completed in 1919.

During the Pearl Harbor Attack in 1941 the USS Arizona sank with a loss of more than 1,100 men; a white concrete and steel structure now spans the hull of the sunken ship, which was dedicated as a national memorial on May 30, 1962. Present facilities at Pearl Harbor include a naval shipyard, supply center, and submarine base. The naval supply center is on Pearl City Peninsula. Pearl Harbor Entrance is bounded on the east by Hickam Air Force Base and on the west by a naval reservation (in 2010 the naval station and air force base were merged into a single installation dubbed Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam). During the Korean and Vietnam wars the harbor complex was a staging area for forces and equipment bound for the combat zones.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Michael Ray.