364 



W. T. BRIGHAM ON THE VOLCANIC PHENOMENA 



Maui. 



Fig. 21. View of the Southern Islands from Molokai. 

 Moloklni. Hawaii. 



Kahoolawe. 



Lanai. 



MAUI. 



Maui is a double island consisting of two peaks connected by a low isthmus, and its plan 

 somewhat resembles the human bust, the head being towards the north-west. Its greatest 

 length is fifty-four miles, breadth, twenty-five, and its area is six hundred and fifty square 

 miles. East Maui is the larger, and is a mountain dome rising more than ten thousand feet 

 above the sea. Haleakala (the house that the sun built) is quite regular in its slopes, which 

 vary from eight to ten degrees, being somewhat steeper on the windward side. The lava 

 beds of which it is composed vary much from those of Kauai or Oahu, being of a lighter 

 color, less cellular, and more impervious to water. This is particularly the case with the 

 lower beds where exposed by the ravines ; and the beds of the streams are much worn into 

 pot-holes, which serve as reservoirs during the part of the year when the stream ceases to 

 run. On the surface the rock is more red and broken, closely resembling that near Le^hi 

 on Oahu. Lateral cones abound, some near the base, although on the northern side they 

 seem very ancient, and no streams of lava have been traced from them. On the western 

 side, near Ulupalakua, several distinct streams of very fresh looking lava are found near 

 the coast. All the windward side of Haleakala is much cut up by ravines, rendering travel- 

 ling in the district of Hana laborious, and when the streams are high, even dangerous. The 

 road winds up and down precipices over which the wind rushes with such violence as to 

 sometimes oblige the traveller to dismount and seek shelter against the cliff on one side to 

 avoid being dashed over the precipice on the other. Travellers among the Alps see less 

 wildness of mountain scenery than the Hawaiian who rides from Hana to Lahaina. On 

 no part of the islands are the roads so dangerous, yet such is the skill of the riders, or 

 the sure-footedness of the horses, that accidents seldom occur. Water is abundant in all 

 the gorges, especially after a rain on the mountain, and the ridges are generally well 

 wooded. 



On the north-west side the path to the summit passes over a bare tract of land, destitute 

 of trees save a few straggling koa or sandal-wood bushes, but covered with wild sage (Sphacele 

 hastata), ohelos ( Vaecinium reticulatum) and grass. In September 1864, the grass was thin and 

 dry but extended to the highest point, as did a common Sonchus. The ascent was gradual 

 and far more even than that of Mauna Loa ; indeed, a carriage-road might be built to the 

 top with very little difficulty, the slope being much more regular than that of Mt. Wash- 

 ington in New Hampshire. 



The immense size of the terminal crater does not at first strike one ; but a brief exami- 

 nation of the cliffs which stretch their black precipices for a circuit of thirty miles, enclosing 



