The West Maui Mountains, West Maui Volcano, or Mauna Kahālāwai which means "holding house of water," is approximately 1.7 million years old and forms a much

eroded Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is disti ...

shield volcano that constitutes the western quarter of Maui. Since its last eruption approximately 320,000 years ago, the West Maui Mountains have undergone substantial stream erosion. The three ''moku'' (districts) of West Maui are Lahaina, Kāanapali, and Wailuku. Wailuku is also known as "Pūalikomohana" ("west isthmus"), or "Nā Wai Ehā" ("the four waters"). The port of

Lahaina Lahaina ( haw, Lāhainā) is the largest census-designated place (CDP) in West Maui, Maui County, Hawaii, United States and includes the Kaanapali and Kapalua beach resorts. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a resident population of 12,702. Lah ...

lies on the southwestern slope. The summit peak at elevation is called "

Puu Kukui Puu or Pu'u is a Hawaiian word for any protuberance, from a pimple to a hill, and can refer to: * Puu Kukui, mountain peak in Hawaii * Pu'u Huluhulu (Hawaii Route 200) * Pu'u 'Ō'ō (Puu Oo), volcanic cone in Hawaii * Setsuna Meioh (Sailor Pluto), ...

," and its name translates to "candlenut hill".

Puu Kukui Watershed Preserve

Established in 1988, the Puu Kukui Preserve is the largest private nature preserve in the State of Hawaii. Since 1994, the preserve has been managed by Maui Land & Pineapple Company in participation with

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nat ...

and the State Natural Area Partnership. These groups work together to protect the watershed lands of the West Maui mountain.

Geological history

The West Maui Mountains were formed through at least three series of major volcanic eruptions during its shield building period. Rocks from the latest major shield-building eruptions are called the Honolua volcanic series, which are roughly 500,000 years old. However, there were several rejuvenated stage eruptions more recently, the last dating to roughly 320,000 years ago.

References

External links

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Puu Kukui Watershed Preserve
* {{Maui County, Hawaii Landforms of Maui Mountains of Hawaii Volcanoes of Maui Nui Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain Shield volcanoes of the United States Hotspot volcanoes Polygenetic shield volcanoes Pleistocene shield volcanoes Pleistocene Oceania Cenozoic Hawaii