PECULIARITIES OF MOIIOKEA 487 



Mohokea differs from the other calderas in three respects : 



1. It is not inclosed on all sides, so as to be properly a pit. It is open 

 on the makai side. 



2. There have been several flows of lava from it on the open side. 

 (a) From the broadest part, between Pirn Emihe and Makawao. It is 

 of aa, and has flowed down to the sea between Punuluu and an older 

 similar stream toward Honuapu. It is evidently comparatively recent, 

 though not recognizable in the legends of the oldest inhabitant. It can 

 not have been active less than two centuries ago. (b) A small aa flow 

 starts from the cliff on the west side of the gulch flanking Makawao on 

 the west. It does not reach quite to the stage road at Hilea. It is very 

 chrysolitic and has issued from under the later pahoehoe which overlies 

 the yellow ash in the immediate neighborhood, (c) Another aa stream, 

 still farther west, is about one mile wide where it crosses the road. It 

 issued from the cliff on the west side of Makawao, but from between two 

 spurs of the older pahoehoe. Following this the road traverses a mile of 

 pahoehoe before coming to (d), the last aa flow, one and a half miles 

 wide, reaching to a short distance east of the sugar mill at Honuapo. 

 The older aa streams are covered by large kukui trees (Cordia), with 

 their characteristic lighter yellow green color, rendering them conspicuous. 



3. The greatest peculiarity in Mohokea consists in the presence of two 

 parallel lines of faulted blocks running northwest from the southeastern 

 edge. The one on the east is known at Puu Enuhe, rising precipitously 

 along the edge of the cliff to the height of 2,327 feet. This is the most 

 conspicuous of all the blocks and is the one most like the buttes of the 

 Eocky Mountain region. The ridge behind the outer block falls away 

 gradually for nearly 3 miles, and then rises again abruptly to Kulua, 

 only to fall away again as at first, and reaches nearly to the innermost 

 wall of the caldera. Viewed from a distance on either flank, the ridge 

 resembles a huge worm with a great head and a swelling near the caudal 

 extremity. This resemblance caught the attention of the early Ha- 

 waiians, who recite an interesting legend respecting its origin.* 



To the west of Puu Enuhe lies a valley one and a half miles wide. 

 It is inhabited by Hawaiians who exhibit characteristic features of the 

 life of the olden time. They are highlanders as contrasted with low- 

 landers. On the west side the valley is flanked by stupendous blocks, of 



* Very long ago there lived here a charming maiden with three brothers. Among her 

 visitors was one possessing great attractions, who always came after dark and left 

 before daylight. The brothers found that their sister loved this visitor, and they had 

 suspicions that he was more than mortal. In order to satisfy themselves they seized 

 hold of him just as he was leaving, and compelled him to remain 'with them. As soon 

 as daylight came he was changed into this enormous worm. He was evidently one of 

 those deities who could not retain the human form in the presence of mortals after 

 daylight. 



