<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (March 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> Coordinates: 21 ° 22 ′ 04" N 157 ° 58 ′ 38" W ﻿ / ﻿ 21.3679 ° N 157.9771 ° W ﻿ / 21.3679; - 157.9771 </P> <P> Pearl Harbor is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu . Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep - water naval base . It is also the headquarters of the United States Pacific Fleet . The U.S. government first obtained exclusive use of the inlet and the right to maintain a repair and coaling station for ships here in 1887 . The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan on December 7, 1941, was the immediate cause of the United States' entry into World War II . </P> <P> Pearl Harbor was originally an extensive shallow embayment called Wai Momi (meaning, "Waters of Pearl") or Pu ʻuloa (meaning, "long hill") by the Hawaiians . Pu ʻuloa was regarded as the home of the shark goddess, Ka ʻahupahau, and her brother (or son), Kahi ʻuka, in Hawaiian legends . According to tradition, Keaunui, the head of the powerful Ewa chiefs, is credited with cutting a navigable channel near the present Pu ʻuloa saltworks, by which he made the estuary, known as "Pearl River," accessible to navigation . Making due allowance for legendary amplification, the estuary already had an outlet for its waters where the present gap is; but Keaunui is typically given the credit for widening and deepening it . </P>

Where is pearl harbor located in hawaii map