GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF HAWAII. 139 



IIaleakala. 



The giant crater of Haleakala, easily the largest extinct crater in the world, 

 rises as a shoulder from the center of the portion fonuiug- the bust of our 

 figure, to the sublime height of 10,032 feet. Besides being the feature of the 

 topography of ]\Iaui, since it covers an area six times as large as west ]\laui, 

 it furnishes to the world a single striking, clean-cut example of the awful power 

 in nature which can rock continents on their foundations and lift np islnnds in 

 the midst of tlie sea, until their tops are lost above the clouds. 



The low plain forming the neck or isthmus between the eastern and western 

 extremities of the island is almost level and is al)Out six miles in length, by seven 

 or eight in width, at the narrowest part. There seems every reason 

 to believe that this portion of the island was at one time a waterway, 

 and that then the older and the newer ends of the island were sepa- 

 rate. Later this shallow channel was filled by flows from Haleakala which have 

 been added to by wash from the highlands. The sand dunes near AVailuku 

 are two hundred feet high and contain only fragments of coral and sea shells 

 in the form of sand particles that point to their origin, while the sand hills 

 nearer the shore and elsewhere are nndoubtedly the products of the wind. 

 Wind-blown or a'olian calcarious sand has had much to do with the building 

 up of the low land deposits ; the central part of the neck being only 156 feet 

 above the sea. In the sand hills along the shore in this portion of ]\lani, as 

 elsewhere in similar situations in the group, numerous calcarious concretions and 

 fossil land shells are found. 



The trip to Maui is in many respects the most interesting one in the islands 

 to the traveler. Naturally Haleakala " is the chief object of interest to the 

 tourist and scientist and its ascent is often made as a side trip on the journey 

 to or from the active craters on Hawaii. In plan east ]\Iaui, which is formed 

 solely ])y Haleakala, is roughly triangular in outline, with the crater lying well 

 towards its eastern angle. The windward side of the dome being w^ell watered 

 is furrowed by numerons canons and gorges. Along the side exposed to the 

 weather there are sixty or more eroded canons, most of them cjii'ryiug fair- 

 sized streams, in a distance of half as many miles. While abundant rains fall 

 on the eastern or Hana end of the island, the canons are wanting, owiuu' ])er- 

 haps to the resistant nature of the more recent lava tiows in that region. 



From Hana to Kaupo on the south side of the island, the slopes are cut np 

 into numerous gorges, many of them with streams. The ravines here have loug 

 been celebrated for their riot of tropical verdure, but as the trail from Kipahulu 



'The Hawaiian name for this mountain, meaning the "house of the sun." doubtless finds its origin in 

 an interesting and very ancient folk-tale of the people. According to the legend it was to Haleakala 

 that Maui. — the adventurous son of Hina — went to capture and tame the sun. The ob,iect of the exploit 

 was to discipline the sun in its course and make it go more slowly in order to give time for the drying 

 of the bark cloth or tapa which his mother made. We are told he was successful in capturing the sun 

 by ingeniously snaring its rays as they rose one by one over the top of the mountain. When at last 

 sixteen of its longest rays had been captured the sun. begging for mercy, was hauled down to earth by 

 Maui, who only permitted it to continue on its course wlien an agreement had been made that the sun 

 should go more slowly ever after and that in certain seasons the days should be longer than in others. 

 The Rev. Mr. Forbes, the Hawaiian Missionary, who first published the legend, asserts that it was this 

 adventure that gave the name to the mountain which should properly be called Alele-kala (sun snarer) 

 and not by the more poetical name Haleakala, now in general use. 



