Maui

File:Maui map sm.png

Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at 727 square miles (1883 km²). Maui was named for the demi-god Maui who, according to legend, raised all the Hawaiian Islands from the sea. It is also known as the "Valley Isle" for the large fertile isthmus between two volcanoes.

Maui is part of the State of Hawai'i and has a resident population of 140,000 — second only in the state to O'ahu. The population is diverse, with many ethnic groups having originally arrived in the islands to work sugar cane and pineapple plantations from countries of the Western Pacific rim. Maui is part of Maui County, the other islands comprising the county being Lana'i, Kaho'olawe, and Moloka'i. The larger towns on Maui island include Kahului, Wailuku, Lahaina, and Kihei.

The island is experiencing rapid population growth (4.6% in 2001/2002) with Kihei being one of the most rapidly growing towns in the USA. The population growth is occurring because many people, having visited Maui, decide to move or retire to the island. This population growth is producing strains, such as growing congestion on many of the roads.

Haleakala
Looking into Haleakala "crater"

The major industries are agriculture and tourism. Maui Land & Pineapple and Hawaiian Cane and Sugar (HCS - a subsidiary of Alexander and Baldwin Company) dominate agricultural activity. HCS produces sugar cane on about 37,000 acres of the Central Valley. The cane is irrigated mostly with water drawn from aqueducts that run from the windward (northern) slopes of Haleakala that receive heavier rainfall. An unusual feature of Maui cane production is the cane-burning that is done on the island for about 9 months of the year. There are controlled burns of cane fields to destroy debris and excess growth; the fires produce smoke that towers above the central valley most early mornings. The ash results in what is locally referred to as "Maui snow" falling downwind especially on north Kihei.

The main tourism centres are Lahaina to Kapalua and Kihei-Wailea, each of which has luxury resort hotels. Whereas O'ahu is most popular with Japanese tourists, Maui tends to appeal especially to visitors from the US mainland and Canada.

Maui is a volcanic doublet: an island formed from two volcanic mountains that abut one another. The older volcano, Mauna Kahalawai, is much older and has been eroded considerably; it is called the West Maui Mountains. The larger volcano, Haleakala, rises above 10,000 feet (3,050 m). The last eruption of Haleakala occurred in ca. 1790, and this lava flow can be viewed between 'Ahihi Bay and La Perouse Bay on the southwest shore of East Maui. Both volcanoes are shield volcanoes and the low viscosity of the Hawaiian lava makes the likelihood of large explosive volcanic eruptions negligible.

Iao Valley
Ī'ao Valley

At sea level Maui has a remarkably stable tropical climate with highs in the region of 80-85 fahrenheit and lows around 65-70 fahrenheit; rainfall is greater in the northern hemisphere winter (wet season is November through April). However, because of the two volcanoes that dominate the topography of the island, Maui has a very wide range of climatic conditions depending on elevation and whether an area faces toward or away from the prevailing trade winds (blowing from the north east). For example the top of the West Maui mountain receives over 400 inches of rainfall per year whereas Kihei receives less than 10 inches, being in the rain shadow of Haleakala (see Orographic precipitation).

Because of the remarkable clarity, dryness, and stillness of the air, the 3000 metre summit of Haleakala on Maui is one of the most sought-after locations in the world for large ground-based telescopes and is an important obervational centre with the associated computing facilities and expertise that this requires. The astronomers on Haleakala are concerned about increasing light pollution as Maui's population grows.

Features on Maui popular with tourists include the "Road to Hana" (the drive from the central valley to Hana and beyond), the drive to and from Haleakala crater, Makawao (and Maui's Upcountry region), the Ī'ao Valley (see above), and Lindbergh's grave (near Kaupo on East Maui).


Road to Hāna	Wai'ānapanapa

The Maui Chamber of Commerce issues medals, called Maui Dollars, that can be used as currency in local shops and are valued as collectables.