“INTRODUCTION. ALS 
mountain range has a larger bulk, is not intersected by cuts, 
and therefore intercepts the greater portion of its rainfall on the 
northern side, which is deeply furrowed by a succession of large 
valleys, Pelekunu, Wailau, and others, cut off from each other 
on the sea side by steep, projecting headlands. The southern 
slope of the range is gentle and mostly continuous, with only a 
very narrow strip of flat land at its foot. Low hills occupy the 
western end of the island. The highest peak probably reaches 
a height of 3600 ft. ; 
The island of Maui consists of two very distinct divisions, 
which are united by a broad and sandy isthmus having a 
maximum elevation of 160 ft. The smaller western half, a 
bulky mountain mass of about 6000 ft. height, is surrounded 
by a very narrow strip of flat land, and its flanks are cut on 
in a cloud of mist nearly the whole year, is boggy, and harbors 
a number of rare plants, many of which are altogether confined 
to this narrow area. No bare lava streams are anywhere to be 
seen; a thick layer of detritus or arable soil covers the entire 
surface. All evidence of a central crater has been effaced, but 
the valley of Oloalu presents a broad and deep, circular valley 
with a narrow outlet for its stream, similar to the well known 
Caldera of the island of Palma, or rather like the Grand Curral 
of Madeira, to which island West Maui bears also otherwise a 
considerable resemblance. Tufa cones are likewise almost absent. 
Of much more recent origin is East Maui, built up entirely 
by the vast mountain mass of Haleakala. Its height exceeds 
10,000 ft., and a vast triangular pit-crater with steep sides of 
1000 to 2000 ft. in height occupies the summit. Its slopes, 
studded with numerous tufa cones, slope to the sea without a 
belt of flat land intervening, and three bare lava fields lie ex- 
posed in glistening blackness on the southern flank. Still, the 
vent or hot spring anywhere on the island, and no tradition 
of volcanic activity is preserved in native lore. The great 
height of the island forces the clouds to deposit their moisture 
on the northern or windward side. Here, consequently, a con- 
siderable number of gullies are worn in the lower portion of the 
flank, but they are neither so deep nor so long as those in the 
western division of the island. The southern slope is continuous, 
unbroken, and rainless to such a degree that the three lava 
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