Lanaʻi

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Lānaʻi The Pineapple Isle or Secluded Isle
Landsat satellite image of Lānaʻi
Geography
Location in the state of Hawaii
Location	20°50′N, 156°56′W
Area	140.5 sq mi (364 km²)
Rank	6th largest Hawaiian Island
Highest point	Lānaʻihale 3,366 ft (1,026 m)^[1]
Demographics
Population	3,193 (as of 2000)
Density	23/sq mi (9/km²)
Official Insignia^[2]
Flower	Kaunaʻoa
Color	Alani (Orange)

This article is about the island. Lanai (without the okina) is the Hawaiian word for a porch or balcony.

Lānaʻi (in Hawaiian pronounced [lɑːnɑʔi]) is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is also known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The only town is Lānaʻi City, a small settlement. The island is somewhat comma-shaped, with a width of 18 miles in the longest direction. The land area is 140.5 square miles (364 km²), making it the 42nd largest island in the United States.^[3] It is separated from the island of Molokaʻi by the Kalohi Channel to the north, and from Maui by the ʻAuʻau Channel to the east. The United States Census Bureau defines Lānaʻi as Census Tract 316 of Maui County. Its total population was 3,193 as of the 2000 census.^[4]. Many of the island's landmarks and sites are located off of dirt roads where four wheel drive is required.

1 History
2 Tourism
3 Places to visit
4 Transportation
5 Trivia
6 Gallery
7 References

[edit] History

Lanai has been under the control of nearby Maui since before recorded history. History seems sometimes to have forgotten little Lanai. The first inhabitants of this island may have arrived as late as the 1400s. According to the Hawaiian legends, man-eating sprits occupied the island before that time. For generation Maui chiefs believed in this man-eating spirits. Depending on which legend one follows either the prophet Lanikāula drove the spirits from the island or the unruly Maui prince Kauluā'au accomplisded that heroic feat. The more popular myth is that the mischevous Kauluā'au pulled up every breadfruit tree he could find on Maui. Finally his father, Kakaalaneo had to banish him to Lanai, expecting him not to survive in that hostile place. However Kauluā'au was able to outwit the spirits and drive them from the island. The chief looked across the channels from Maui and saw that his son's fire continued to burn nightly on the shore, and he sent a canoe to Lanai to bring the prince, redeemed by his courage and his cleverness, back home to Maui. As a reward, Kaululaau was given control of the island and he encouraged immigration from other islands.^[5] True to himself Kauluā'au had, in the meantime, pulled up all the breadfruit trees on Lanai, accounting for the lack of breadfruit on that island. The name Lanai is of uncertain origin, but the island has historically been called Lānaʻi o Kauluāʻau, one theory is that the phrase means "day of the conquest of Kauluāʻau."

The first people to migrate here, most likely from Maui and Molokai, probably established fishing villages along the coast initially but later branched out into the interior, where they raised taro in the fertile volcanic soil. During most of those times, the Moi of Maui held dominion over Lanai even today Lanai is part of the County of Maui, but apparently the Maui leaders primarily left the people of Lanai to their own devices. Life on Lanai remained relatively calm until King Kamehameha I or Kalaniopuu came over to take control, slaughtering people on every part of the island. His wrath was so fierce that when Captain Vancouver sailed past the island in 1792, he didn't bother to land becaues of Lanai's apparent lack of villages and population. It is mentioned that Lanai was the favourite fishing spot of Kamehameha out of all the eight islands.

Lānai was first seen by Europeans on February 25, 1779, when Captain Charles Clerke sighted the island from aboard James Cook's HMS Resolution. Clerke had taken command of the ship after Cook was killed at Kealakekua Bay on February 14, and was leaving the islands for the North Pacific.^{[citation needed]}

In 1922, James Dole, the president of Hawaiian Pineapple Company (later renamed to Dole Food Company), bought the entire island of Lānaʻi, and developed a large portion of it into the world's largest pineapple plantation.

In 1985, Lānaʻi passed into the control of David H. Murdock, as a result of his purchase of Castle & Cooke.

[edit] Tourism

Main article: Tourism in Hawaii

Tourism on Lānaʻi started more recently as the pineapple industry was phased out in the islands.

There are two resort hotels on Lānaʻi, both managed by Four Seasons Hotels: Mānele Bay and the Lodge at Kōʻele. The latter is unusual for a resort in Hawaiʻi in that it is located inland rather than near the beach. There is also a small hotel in Lānaʻi City used primarily for people visiting Lānaʻi residents. Both resorts have golf courses, and are managed by Four Seasons.

Most of the attractions on the island outside of the hotels and town can be visited only via dirt roads that require a 4x4 vehicle.

[edit] Places to visit

Puu Pehe, a.k.a. "Sweetheart Rock", is situated about 150 feet offshore between Manele Bay and Hulopoe Bay along the island’s southern coastline. It is one of Lanai’s most recognizable landmarks and also the setting for one of Hawaii’s most enduring legends.
Keahikawelo, also known as "Garden of the Gods", is characterized by boulders of varying sizes, shapes and colors. They are the result of thousands of years of erosion.

[edit] Transportation

air: Lanai Airport serves the island.
water: There is a regular daily ferry service from Lahaina, Hawai'i

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

The largest private residence on the island is a mansion owned by billionaire David H. Murdock. It is located next to Mānele Bay, on the south east side of the island.

Lanai was the site of a kayaking challenge in the finale of The Amazing Race 11.

[edit] Gallery

View of a former Lanai pineapple field, now a field of grass	View of some local houses in Lanai City	View of Garden of the Gods	Garden of the Gods (another view)
Mountains on Lanai	Shipwreck Beach sign	View of East Molokai from Shipwreck Beach, Lanai.	View of the shipwreck at Shipwreck Beach
The Stables at Ko'ele	View of Outer Lanai City from the Stables at Ko'ele	Hotel Lanai	Hole 17 at the Experience at Ko'ele golf course
The Lodge at Ko'ele