J38 XATIKAL HISTORY OF HAWAII. 



Iao Valley. 



As has been tlic case on the other ishmds. this volcanic pile has snffered 

 its deepest erosion on the northeast tiank. Exposed to the trade winds, the 

 jrreat awe-inspiring valley of Iao. with its head a vast amphitheater in the very 

 heart of the monntain, has been so wonderfully eroded that it is indeed difficult 

 to fed it has been formed solely by the chisel of the elements. 



Kising on every hand about "The Needle," an isolated, nearly inaccessible 

 pinnacle, standing hundreds of feet above the floor of the valley— are almost 

 vei-tical verdni-e-covered walls of basalt. They rise al)ruptly for more than 

 four thousand feet. Over and al)(mt the toj) of the highest peaks cluster and 

 frolic the down-like clouds that so often, without apparent provocation, gather 

 into a lowering pall from which pours torrents of cold, pelting rain. Within 

 an liour their waters will tiood and choke the babbling gorge stream, until it 

 rushes down to the sea in an irresistible torrent. 



Few ai'e the visitors who have seen the grandeur of Iao who are not willing 

 to compai-e it favorably with the more famous valley of the Yosemite. But 

 those who have mastered the ditfieulty of the ascent and who have once looked 

 down from the summit of Puu Kukui into the head of Iao Valley, and the 

 e(pial!y wonderful valleys of Waihee and Olowalu. are unstinted in their praise 

 of tile wild scenery that stretches away from their feet in all directions — to the 

 ocean, to llaleakala. and to the snow-capped mountains of Hawaii. Those 

 travelers who can take the circumstances that surround each into account and 

 compare the grandeur of the Valley Isle with the grandeur of the Yosemite 

 never fail to rearrange the list of America's great natural wonders in a way 

 most eomplimeiitary to this island wonder, which, unfortunately, too few have 

 as 3'et been piixileucd to visit. 



The suinniii of Puu I\ul<ui is made up of an extensive bog which, as a great 

 monntain reservoir, receives and stores the Avater that flows down the lee or 

 Lahaina side of the mountain. As a matter of fact no fewer than eight canons 

 radiate in all <lirections from the central portion of west ^Nlaui, at least five of 

 them being notahle for their size. The Avliole summit of this western end of 

 the island is c()i)iousl\- supplied with water. It is therefore well wooded, 

 although the lowei- slopes, especially on the southwestern side, are dry and 

 barren. Along the shore the costal plain is composed of rich red soil v.-ashed from 

 the mountains. When ai-tificially watered and under cultivation it is most 

 productive. 



In its outline the island of :\raui has often been compared to the head and 

 bust of a woman. West Maui, the head, with the face looking to the southwest; 

 the lowland joining the portion just described to the larger eastern end of the 

 island, forms the neck, with Kahului Bay at the back of the neck and ]^faalaea 

 Ray forming the hollow beneath the chin. 



