Iao Valley

Iao Valley
ʻĪao Valley
Iao Valley
Location	West Maui Mountains
Floor elevation	1,000 feet (300 m)
Coordinates	20°52′51″N 156°32′42″W / 20.88083°N 156.545°W / 20.88083; -156.545Coordinates: 20°52′51″N 156°32′42″W / 20.88083°N 156.545°W / 20.88083; -156.545

ʻĪao Valley (English: Iao, Hawaiian: ʻĪ-ao: "cloud supreme", pronounced similar to "EE-ow") is a lush, stream-cut valley in West Maui, Hawaii, located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) west of Wailuku. Because of its natural beauty and historical significance, it has become a popular tourist location.

ʻĪao Valley State Monument

The ʻĪao Needle. It looks short despite its 1,200 ft (370 m) height because nothing is next to it for scale.

The state park is located on 6.2 acres (2.5 ha) at the end of ʻĪao Valley Road (Highway 32). The ʻĪao Needle (Kūkaemoku) is a famous landmark in the state park, a vegetation-covered lava remnant rising 1,200 feet (370 m) from the valley floor or 2,250 feet (690 m) when measured from sea level. The needle is surrounded by the cliffs of the West Maui Mountains, an extinct volcano. One can take a short trail (ʻĪao Needle Lookout Trail and Ethnobotanical Loop) to a windy overlook. Park hours are from 7 am to 7 pm.^[1]

Rainforest

ʻĪao Stream

ʻĪao Valley is covered in dense rainforest, most of which consists of introduced vegetation on the valley floor. The Puʻu Kukui summit area at the valley's head receives an average 386 inches (9.8 m) of rainfall per year,^[2] making it the state's second wettest location after Mount Waiʻaleʻale.^[3] Much of this rainfall ends up flowing into the ʻĪao Stream. Trails in the State Park run alongside ʻĪao Stream and through the forest.

History

The Hawaiian god Kāne is considered to be the procreator and the provider of life. He is associated with wai (fresh water) as well as clouds, rain, streams and springs. Kanaloa, the Hawaiian god of the underworld, is represented by the phallic stone of the ʻĪao Needle.

Kapawa, the king of Hawaiʻi prior to Pili, was buried here. Maui's ruler Kakaʻe, in the late 15th century, designated ʻĪao Valley as an aliʻi burial ground. The remains were buried in secret places. In 1790, the Battle of Kepaniwai took place there, in which Kamehameha the Great defeated Kalanikūpule and the Maui army during his campaign to unify the islands. The battle was said to be so bloody that dead bodies blocked ʻĪao Stream, and the battle site was named Kepaniwai ("the damming of the waters").

Bronze statue commemorating Japanese sugarcane workers at the Japanese Pavilion

Kepaniwai Park's Heritage Gardens

Since 1952, Kepaniwai Park's Heritage Gardens have memorialized Maui's multicultural history. Scale models of ethnic buildings and gardens representing the immigration of Hawaiian, American missionary, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Korean, and Filipino cultures are the park's highlight. The gardens were restored in 1994.^[4]

References

1. ^ "ʻIao Valley State Monument". Hawaii State Parks; Maui. Department of Land and Natural Resources. http://www.hawaiistateparks.org/parks/maui/Index.cfm?park_id=36. Retrieved 2009-03-14. 
2. ^ "NOAA Hawaiʻi rain gauge summary". Pacific Islands Water Science Center. United States Geological Survey. http://www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl/hydro/pages/data_tbl_12.html. Retrieved 2009-02-20. 
3. ^ "May 2010 Precipitation Summary". National Weather Service Forecast Office Honolulu, HI. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. June 7, 2010. http://www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl/hydro/pages/may10sum.php. Retrieved 2010-11-15. "Most of the gages in Maui County had below normal totals for 2010 through the end of May. Puu Kukui’s 99.90 inches (57 percent of normal) led all totals county wide and ranked second highest in the state." 
4. ^ Kepler, Angela Kay (2007). West Maui: A Natural History Guide (1st ed.). Mutual Publishing. ISBN 1566478235. 

Further reading

• Kyselka, Will; Ray E. Lanterman (1980). Maui: How it Came to Be. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0824805305.