Molokai

Molokai
For the 1999 film, see Molokai: The Story of Father Damien.

Molokai

Nickname: The Friendly Isle

Satellite image of Molokai.

Geography
[1]

Location

2108N 15702W

Area

260sqmi (673.40km2)

Area rank

5th largest Hawaiian Island

Highestelevation

4,961 ft (1,512 m)

Highestpoint

Kamakou
Country
United States
Symbols

Flower

Kukui

Color

maomao (green)
Demographics

Population

7,404 (as of 2000)

Density

28/sq mi (11/km)

Molokai or Molokai (/mlka/; Hawaiian: [moloki]) is an island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is 38 by 10

miles (61 by 16km) in size at its extreme length and width with a usable land area of 260 square miles (673.40km2),
making it the fifth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands and the 27th largest island in the United States. It lies east of
Oahu across the 25-mile (40km) wide Kaiwi Channel and north of Lnai, separated from it by the Kalohi Channel.
The lights of Honolulu are visible at night from the west end of Molokai, while nearby Lnai and Maui are clearly

Molokai

visible from anywhere along the south shore of the island. The shape of Molokai Island can be recalled as that of a
shoe or a fish.
Molokai is distinguished in the Roman Catholic religion as the longtime residence of Father Damien de Veuster, a
Belgian priest and Mother Marianne Cope of the Sisters of St. Francis, both of whom have been canonized Roman
Catholic Saints for their treatment and care given during the 19th century to long term sufferers of Hansen's Disease,
also known as leprosy.
A site of a Roman Catholic Saint is deemed a sacred place and is visited by practising Catholics from around the
world for giving prayers asking for healing and religious guidance. The Kalaupapa Colony is one of the two sites in
the United States where a Roman Catholic Saint resided; it is the only single site where two Saints (Saint Damien
and Saint Marianne) both resided.
Historically, a small north shore colony on Molokai, Kalaupapa, was the place where sufferers of Hansen's Disease
were forced into quarantine by the Hawaiian government, but there are no active cases of Hansen's Disease on
Molokai today. Those who continue to live in the settlement are patients who chose to stay after the segregation
policy was lifted in 1969.[2]
The first European sailor to visit the island was Captain George Dixon in 1786.

Geography

Eastern Molokai with a portion of Kamakou and

Molokai Forest Reserve

Molokai is built from two distinct shield volcanoes known as East

Molokai and the much smaller West Molokai. The highest point is
Kamakou on East Molokai, at 4,970 feet (1,510m). East Molokai
volcano, like the Koolau Range on Oahu, is today only what remains
standing of the southern half of the original mountain. The northern
half suffered a catastrophic collapse about 1.5 million years ago and
now lies as a debris field scattered northward across the Pacific Ocean
bottom,[3] while what remains on the island are the highest sea cliffs in
the world.[4] Views of these sea cliffs are presented in the movie
Jurassic Park III. The south shore of Molokai boasts the longest
fringing reef in the U.S. and its holdingsnearly 25 miles (40km)

long.[5]
Molokai is part of the state of Hawaii and located in Maui County, except for the Kalaupapa Peninsula, which is
separately administered as Kalawao County. Maui County encompasses Maui, Lnai, and Kahoolawe in addition to
Molokai. The largest town on the island is Kaunakakai, which is one of two small ports on the island. Molokai
Airport is located on West Molokai. The United States Census Bureau divides the island into three census tracts:
Census Tract 317 and Census Tract 318 of Maui County, Hawaii, and Census Tract 319 of Kalawao County, Hawaii.
The total 2000 census population of these was 7,404, living on a land area of 260.02 square miles (673.45km2).[6]
Molokai is separated from Oahu on the west by the Kaiwi Channel, from Maui on the southeast by the Pailolo
Channel, and from Lnai on the south by the Kalohi Channel.

Molokai

Ecology
Molokai is split into two main geographical areas. The low western
half is very dry and the soil is heavily denuded due to grazing by goats
and poor land management practices. It lacks significant ground cover
and virtually the entire section is covered in non-native kiawe
(Prosopis pallida) trees. One of the few natural areas remaining almost
intact are the coastal dunes of Moomomi, which are part of a Nature
Conservancy preserve.
The eastern half of the island is a high plateau rising up to an elevation
of 4,900ft (1,500m) on Kamakou peak and includes the 2,774 acres
Halawa Bay Beach Park, located at the extreme
(11.23km2; 4.334sqmi) Molokai Forest Reserve.[7] The eastern half
east end of Molokai
is covered with lush wet forests that get over 300in (7,600mm) of rain
per year. The high elevation forests are populated by native hia lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) trees and an
extremely diverse endemic flora and fauna in the understory. Much of the summit area is protected by the Nature
Conservancy's Kamakou and Pelekunu valley preserves. Below 4,000 feet (1,200m), the vegetation is dominated by
exotic flora, including strawberry guava (Psidium littorale), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.), and cypress (Cupressus
spp.). Introduced axis deer (Axis axis) and feral pigs (Sus scrofa) roam native forests, destroying native plants,
expanding exotic plants through disturbance and distribution of their seeds, and threatening endemic insects. Near
the summit of Kamakou is the unique Pepeopae bog, where dwarf hia and other plants cover the soggy ground. .
Molokai is home to a great number of endemic plant and animal species. However, many of its species, including
the olomao (Myadestes lanaiensis), kkwahie (Paroreomyza flammea), and the Molokai (Moho bishopi) have
become extinct. Molokai is home to a wingless fly among many other endemic insects.

Tourism
For years, residents of Molokai have resisted attempts to dramatically
increase tourism. This island is also the least populated, according to
2012 population test. Community members successfully opposed the
development company Molokai Ranch's attempt to expand through the
"Save La'au Point" movement.[8] As a result, on March 24, 2008 what
was then the island's largest employer decided to shut all operations
including hotels, movie theater, restaurants, and golf course and
dismiss 120 workers.[9] Molokai has Hawaii's highest unemployment
rate.[10]
Sign greeting visitors to Molokai at exit to

National Geographic Traveler magazine and the National Geographic

Molokai Airport
Center for Sustainable Destinations conduct annual Destination
Scorecard surveys, aided by George Washington University. In 2007, a panel of 522 experts in sustainable tourism
and destination stewardship reviewed 111 selected human-inhabited islands and archipelagos around the world.
Molokai ranked 10th among the 111 locales. The survey cited Molokai's pristine, breathtaking tropical landscape,
environmental stewardship, rich and deep Hawaiian traditions (the island's mana), and visitor-friendly culture. The
neighbor islands Hawaii, Kauai, Maui and Oahu, ranked 50, 61, 81 and 104, respectively. Tahiti ranked 57.
Molokai is also the title of the 2010 Christmas Special of BBC Radio 4's "Cabin Pressure", a show about an airplane
crew in which each episode's title is the destination they are flying to.
Molokai is believed to be the birthplace of hula and the annual Molokai Ka Hula Piko festival is held on this
island.[11]

Molokai

Towns and villages

Hoolehua
Kalaupapa
Kalawao
Kaunakakai
Kualapuu
Maunaloa

Notes
[1] http:/ / tools. wmflabs. org/ geohack/ geohack. php?pagename=Molokai& params=21_08_N_157_02_W_type:isle_scale:500000
[2] " Kalaupapa National Historical Park - Hansen's Disease Patients at Kalawao and Kalaupapa (http:/ / www. nps. gov/ kala/ historyculture/
patients. htm) (U.S. National Park Service)." U.S. National Park Service - Experience Your America. Web. 19 Nov. 2009.
[3] Hawaiian landslides have been catastrophic (http:/ / www. mbari. org/ volcanism/ Hawaii/ HR-Landslides. htm), Monterey Bay Aquarium
Research Institute
[4] Culliney, John L. (2006) Islands in a Far Sea: The Fate of Nature in Hawaii. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. p. 17.
[5] http:/ / bulletin. geoscienceworld. org/ cgi/ content/ abstract/ 115/ 11/ 1344 Quantitative morphology of a fringing reef tract from
high-resolution laser bathymetry: Southern Molokai, Hawaii

[6] Census Tracts 317 and 318, Maui County; and Census Tract 319, Kalawao County (http:/ / factfinder. census. gov/ servlet/
DTTable?_bm=y& -show_geoid=Y& -tree_id=4001& -_caller=geoselect& -context=dt& -errMsg=& -all_geo_types=N&
-mt_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_P001& -redoLog=true& -transpose=N& -search_map_config=|b=50|l=en|t=4001|zf=0. 0|ms=sel_00dec|dw=0.
3235256323641746|dh=0. 22787245954044197|dt=gov. census. aff. domain. map. EnglishMapExtent|if=gif|cx=-156.
97355919130274|cy=21.
202197799643404|zl=5|pz=5|bo=318:317:316:314:313:323:319|bl=362:393:358:357:356:355:354|ft=350:349:335:389:388:332:331|fl=381:403:204:380:369:379:3
-PANEL_ID=p_dt_geo_map& -_lang=en& -geo_id=14000US15005031900& -geo_id=14000US15009031700&
-geo_id=14000US15009031800& -CONTEXT=dt& -format=& -search_results=14000US15009031800& -ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U)
United States Census Bureau
[7] Molokai Forest Reserve Department of Land and Natural Resources (http:/ / hawaii. gov/ dlnr/ dofaw/ forestry/ FRS/ reserves/ mauinuifr/
molokai-forest-reserve)
[8] http:/ / archives. starbulletin. com/ 2007/ 01/ 14/ business/ story01. html
[9] http:/ / www. mauinews. com/ page/ content. detail/ id/ 517428. html
[10] http:/ / www. hawaiireporter. com/ hawaii-unemployment-at-two-year-low/ 123
[11] Molokai Ka Hula Piko (http:/ / www. aloha-hawaii. com/ molokai/ things-to-do/ attractions/ molokai-ka-hula-piko/ )

References
Coffman, Tom (2003). The Island Edge of America: A Political History of Hawai'i. University of Hawaii Press.
ISBN0-8248-2662-0.
Engledow, Jill (March 2007). "Where Tradition Holds Sway" (http://www.nokaoimagazine.com/Features/v.
11n.2/Where_Tradition_Holds_Sway.html). Maui N Ka Oi Magazine 11 (2). Article about traditional hula
halau on Molokai
Farber, Joseph M (1997) Ancient Hawaiian fishponds: can restoration succeed on Molokai? (http://books.
google.co.nz/books?id=fvFJAAAAYAAJ&q=Ancient+Hawaiian+Fishponds:+Can+Restoration+Succeed+
on+Moloka'i?&dq=Ancient+Hawaiian+Fishponds:+Can+Restoration+Succeed+on+Moloka'i?&hl=en&
ei=D5aeToyPG_HRmAWHzvGlCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAA)
Cornell University. ISBN 978-0-9659782-0-0.
Lee, Pali Jae, and Koko Willis (1987). Tales from the Night Rainbow: The Story of a Woman, a People, and an
Island (http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Night-Rainbow-Koko-Willis/dp/0962803006/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&
ie=UTF8&qid=1298315568&sr=1-1). Night Rainbow Publishing. ISBN0-9628030-0-6.
Lo, Catharine (DecemberJanuary 2007). "On the Rocks" (http://www.hanahou.com/pages/magazine.
asp?Action=DrawArticle&ArticleID=526&MagazineID=33). Hana Hou! 9 (6). Article about Hawaiian limpets,
a traditional delicacy known locally as opihi.

Molokai
Tayman, John (2006). The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai. Scribners.
ISBN0-7432-3300-X.

External links
Official Molokai Visitors Association website (http://www.gohawaii.com/molokai)
The Molokai Dispatch (http://www.themolokaidispatch.com), weekly print community newspaper
Coordinates: 2108N 15702W (http:/ / tools. wmflabs. org/ geohack/ geohack. php?pagename=Molokai&
params=21_08_N_157_02_W_type:isle_scale:500000)

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

Molokai Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=612113076 Contributors: Andres, Andycjp, Arbenk, Arjuna909, Aspects, Athaenara, Avenue, Awien, BANi, Backspace, Barati11,
Blainster, Bobblewik, Brainy J, Chuck Sirloin, Cnyborg, Coojah, Cosa Nostradamus, Cspurrier, CyberMaus, D6, Deflective, DragonflySixtyseven, Endomion, Epipelagic, Excirial, Flata, Frietjes,
Funandtrvl, Gentgeen, Geologyguy, George100, Gerald Farinas, Gilgamesh, Glacialfox, Gmosaki, Hawaiian717, Hawaiiangirl22, Henry Flower, Hike395, Hmains, Hockettjv, Horologium, I
dream of horses, Irena Plahuta, JDavid, JamesBHunt, Jerome Kelly, Jetman, John, Jonathunder, Jrboi, K17juyoun, K17nautu, K17rayaw, KAVEBEAR, KeithH, Khazar2, Killian441, Kimiko,
Kitty the Random, Klemen Kocjancic, Kralizec!, Kristof vt, Kwamikagami, Latitude0116, Lfstevens, Lightmouse, MJCdetroit, Magioladitis, Makana Chai, Makaristos, MamaGeek, Mamoahina,
Marshman, Matt0518, MattWright, Mhockey, Michael-angeloh, Mikaduki, Mistermistertee, Niapeters, NoPuzzleStranger, Nyttend, PTSE, Pejman47, Pencil geek, PhilKnight, Pixel23,
PoccilScript, Postdlf, Psy guy, Pvmoutside, Randydeluxe, Rlcantwell, Rod Williams, Samuelsen, Sanba38, Semifamous, Shaunheath, Smallbones, Softlavender, Spencer, Srbauer, StAnselm,
Stillnotelf, Straitgate, TDogg310, TShilo12, TUF-KAT, Takometer, Tamariki, Template namespace initialisation script, The Obento Musubi, Travis.Thurston, Typhoonchaser, Ukexpat, Van
helsing, Vegaswikian, Viralxtreme14, Viriditas, Vision3001, Volcanoguy, W Nowicki, WhisperToMe, Whitti, Whoop whoop pull up, Yoshi Canopus, Zadcat, Zanter, Zibzulander, Zoe, Zoxoz,
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Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

File:Molokai.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Molokai.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Earth Sciences and Image Analysis, NASA-Johnson Space Center
File:Map of Hawaii highlighting Molokai.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Map_of_Hawaii_highlighting_Molokai.svg License: Public Domain Contributors:
MattWright
File:East Molokai.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:East_Molokai.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: User:Travis.Thurston
File:Halawa Molokai.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Halawa_Molokai.jpg License: GNU Free Documentation License Contributors: Conscious, Juiced lemon,
Mhockey, Starscream
File:Molokai hello.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Molokai_hello.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 Generic Contributors: Binko71100

License
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