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Maui

Satellite image of Mauʻi. The shape of the island resembles the profile of a person.

The island of Mauʻi is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at 727.2 square miles (1883.5 km²) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest island in Maui County, which is composed of itself, Lanaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, and Molokaʻi. As of 2000, Maui had a resident population of 117,644, which is ranked third within the state behind the islands of Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi. Native Hawaiian tradition gives the origin of the island's name in the legend of Hawaiʻiloa, the Polynesian navigator attributed with discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. The story relates how he named the island of Mauʻi after his son who in turn was named for the demigod Māui, who is said to have raised all the Hawaiian Islands from the sea. The Island of Maui is also called the "Valley Isle" for the large fertile isthmus between its two volcanoes. _{For the full article, click here.}