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Kona is a ''moku'' or district on the Big Island of Hawaii in the State of Hawaii, known for its Kona coffee and the location of the
Ironman World Championship The Ironman World Championship has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978, with an additional race in 1982. It is owned and organized by the World Triathlon Corporation. It is the annual culmination of a series of Ironman triathlon qualification ...
Triathlon. In the current system of administration of Hawaii County, the ''moku'' of Kona is divided into North Kona District (''Kona ‘Akau'') and South Kona District (''Kona Hema''). The term "Kona" is sometimes used to refer to its largest town,
Kailua-Kona Kailua-Kona is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. It is also known as Kailua (a name it shares with a community located on the windward side of Oahu), as Kona (a name it shares ...
. Other towns in Kona include Kealakekua, Keauhou, Holualoa, Hōnaunau and Honalo.


Description

In the
Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language ...
, ''kona'' means
leeward Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...
or dry side of the island, as opposed to ''ko‘olau'' which means windward or the wet side of the island. In the times of Ancient Hawaiʻi, ''Kona'' was the name of the leeward district on each major island. In Hawai‘i, the Pacific anticyclone provides moist prevailing northeasterly winds to the Hawaiian islands, resulting in
rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water fo ...
when the winds contact the windward landmass of the islands – the winds subsequently lose their moisture and travel on to the leeward (or ''kona'') side of the island. When this pattern reverses, it can produce a Kona storm from the west. ''Kona'' has cognates with the same meaning in other
Polynesian languages The Polynesian languages form a genealogical group of languages, itself part of the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family. There are 38 Polynesian languages, representing 7 percent of the 522 Oceanic languages, and 3 percent of the Austron ...
. In Tongan, the equivalent cognate would be ''
tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
''; for windward, the associated cognate would be ''
tokelau Tokelau (; ; known previously as the Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, a ...
''. Kona is the home of the
Ironman World Championship The Ironman World Championship has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978, with an additional race in 1982. It is owned and organized by the World Triathlon Corporation. It is the annual culmination of a series of Ironman triathlon qualification ...
Triathlon, which is held each year in October in
Kailua-Kona Kailua-Kona is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. It is also known as Kailua (a name it shares with a community located on the windward side of Oahu), as Kona (a name it shares ...
. The Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park marks the place where
Captain James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...
was killed in 1779.
Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located on the west coast of the island of Hawaiʻi in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The historical park preserves the site where, up until the early 19th c ...
and
Honokohau Settlement and Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park Honokohau may refer to the place-names in Hawaii, United States: * Honokohau Harbor - A marina in western Hawaii * Honokōhau Settlement and Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park - A National Historic Park in western Hawaii *Honokohau Vall ...
are in Kona. The volcanic slopes of
Hualālai Hualālai (pronounced in Hawaiian) is an active volcano on the island of Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands. It is the westernmost, third-youngest and the third-most active of the five volcanoes that form the island of Hawaii, following Kīlauea ...
and
Mauna Loa Mauna Loa ( or ; Hawaiian: ; en, Long Mountain) is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The largest subaerial volcano (as opposed to subaqueous volcanoes) in both mass and vo ...
in the Kona district provide an ideal
microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few squa ...
for growing coffee. Kona coffee is considered one of the premium specialty coffees of the world. Kona is the home of one of the main bases of the international Christian mission organization YWAM, and the University of the Nations, first founded there.


In popular culture

* The region served as the basis of the
Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shells ...
' song "Kona Coast" from their 1978 album '' M.I.U. Album''. * Asteroid 284891 Kona, discovered by astronomers at the ESA Optical Ground Station in 2009, was named after the Hawaiian district. The official was published by the
Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Function T ...
on 16 January 2014 ().


Gallery

File:KealakekuaBay.JPG, Kealakekua Bay File:Sunset in Kona or a real sunset over sea.jpg, Sunset in Kona File:HonaunauBoatHouse.JPG, Canoe Hale at Honaunau Bay File:Plymouth Rock Kailua Kona Big island, Hawaii (45553296344).jpg, Plymouth Rock, Kailua Kona, Big island, Hawaii File:Kona Dog Beach Big island Hawaii (45553363314).jpg, Kona Dog Beach, Big island, Hawaii


Further reading

* Juvik, Sonia P., 1998, ''Atlas of Hawaii'', University of Hawaii Press, * Kona Historical Society, 1997, ''A Guide to Old Kona'', University of Hawaii Press,


References


External links


Kona Historical Society web site

Kona Kohala Chamber of Commerce web site

North Kona shoreline access map at Hawaii County web site

South Kona shoreline access map at Hawaii County web site
{{Hawaii County, Hawaii Districts of Hawaii County, Hawaii Kona District