Maui

Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at 727 square miles (1883 km²). Native Hawaiian tradition gives the origin of the island's name in the legend of Hawaiʻiloa, the Polynesian navigator attributed with discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. The story relates how he named the island of Maui after his son who in turn was named for the demi-god Maui. According to legend, the demi-god Maui raised all the Hawaiian Islands from the sea. The Island of Maui is also called the "Valley Isle" for the large fertile isthmus between its two volcanoes.

Topography

Maui is a volcanic doublet: an island formed from two volcanic mountains that abut one another to form the isthmus between them. The older volcano, Mauna Kahalawai, is much older and has been eroded considerably; it is now called the West Maui Mountain. The larger volcano in the East, Haleakalā with its famous caldera — rises above 10,023 feet (3,050 m). The last eruption occurred around 1790, and the lava flow can be viewed between ʻĀhihi 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 eruptions negligible.

Related Topics:
Volcanic doublet - Mauna Kahalawai - Haleakalā - Caldera - La Perouse Bay - Shield volcano - Lava

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