| Kauai
(usually called Kauai outside the Hawaiian Islands, pronounced kawa-ee) is
the oldest and fourth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands. Kauai's area is
of 1,446 km˛ . Known also as the "Garden Isle", Kauai lies 105
miles (170 kilometers) across the Kauaʻi Channel, northwest of
Oʻahu. This island, of volcanic origin, the highest peak on this mountainous
island is Kawaikini at 1,598 m (5,243 ft). The second highest peak is
Mount Waiʻaleʻale near the center of the island, 1,570 m (5,148
ft) above sea level. One of the wettest known spots on Earth, with an annual
average rainfall of 460 inches (11,700 millimeters), is located on the
east side of Mount Waiʻaleʻale. The high annual rainfall has
eroded deep valleys in the central mountain, thus carving out canyons with many
unbelievable waterfalls.There is no known meaning behind the name of Kauaʻi.
Native Hawaiian tradition indicates the name's origin in the legend of
Hawaiiloa — the Polynesian navigator that was attributed with discovery of the
Hawaiian Islands. The story relates how he named the island of Kauai after
a favorite son; therefore a possible translation of Kauai is "place
around the neck", meaning how a father would carry a favorite child. |
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