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.

Tourism

Maui welcomed 2,225,060 tourists in 2002. The main tourism centres are Lahaina to Kapalua and Kīhei-Wailea, each of which has several luxury resort hotels. Whereas Oʻahu is most popular with Japanese tourists, Maui tends to appeal especially to visitors from the US mainland and Canada. Wailea hosts the annual Maui Writers Conference.

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Maui is a leading whale-watching center in the Hawaiian Islands due to the fact that many Humpback whales winter in the sheltered ʻAuʻau Channel between the islands of Maui county. The whales migrate approximately 3,500 miles (5,600 km) from Alaskan waters each autumn and spend the northern hemisphere winter months mating and birthing in the warm waters off Maui. The whales are typically sighted in pods: small groups of several adults and one or more calves. Humpbacks are an endangered species protected by U.S. federal and Hawaiʻi state law. There are estimated to be about 3000 humpbacks in the North Pacific.

Related Topics:
Humpback whale - ʻAuʻau Channel - Alaskan waters - Endangered species

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Among the many features on Maui popular with tourists are the "Road to Hāna" (the drive from the central valley to Hāna and beyond), the drive up to Haleakalā crater, Makawao (and Maui's Upcountry region), the Īʻao Valley, and Lindbergh's grave (near Kaupō on East Maui).

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Road to HānaWaiʻānapanapa

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

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