Lanai
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Lānaʻi
The Pineapple Isle or The Secluded Isle |
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| Landsat satellite image of Lānaʻi. | |
| Geography | |
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| Location in the state of Hawaii. | |
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| Area | 140.5 sq. mi. (364 km²) |
| Rank | 6th largest Hawaiian Island |
| Highest point | Lānaʻihale |
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| Demographics | |
| Population | 3,193 (as of 2000) |
| Density | 23/sq. mi. (9/km²) |
| Official Insignias | |
| Flower | Kaunaʻoa |
| Color |
ʻĀlani (orange)
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Lānaʻi or Lanai (pronounced /ləˈnaɪ/ in English and or [laːˈnɐʔi] in Hawaiian) 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.[2] 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.[3] Many of the island's landmarks and sites are located off of dirt roads where four-wheel drive is required.
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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 spirits occupied the island before that time. For generations, Maui chiefs believed in these 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 accomplished that heroic feat. The more popular myth is that the mischievous 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 channel 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, Kauluā'au was given control of the island and he encouraged immigration from other islands.[4] 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 because of Lanai's apparent lack of villages and population. It is mentioned that Lanai was the favorite 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.
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.
Tourism
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. Hotel Lanai is a quaint bed and breakfast with 11 rooms available to guests. Hotel Lanai was built in 1923 by James Dole of Dole Pineapple. The hotel was originally built as a lodge to house Dole executives overseeing the islands pineapple production. Hotel Lanai was the islands only hotel until 1990. 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.
Gallery
References
- ↑ "Table 5.11 - Elevations of Major Summits". 2004 State of Hawaii Data Book. State of Hawaii (2004). Retrieved on 2007-07-23.
- ↑ "Table 5.08 - Land Area of Islands: 2000". 2004 State of Hawaii Data Book. State of Hawaii (2004). Retrieved on 2007-07-23.
- ↑ Census Tract 316, Maui County United States Census Bureau
- ↑ Let's Go Hawaii: On a Budget By Inc. Let's Go, Sara Joy Culver, Let's Go Inc. Page 350
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