Kawaikini

Kawaikini, on the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi, rises 5,243 feet and is the island’s highest point, forming the summit of the inactive central shield volcano Mount Waiʻaleʻale. Its Hawaiian name, meaning “the multitudinous water,” reflects the exceptional rainfall of Kauaʻi’s central peaks, which are regularly counted among the wettest places in National Climatic Data Center records. That persistent rain, combined with rugged terrain, makes the mountain hard to reach. Dense swampy forest in the Alakaʻi Wilderness Preserve blocks access from the west, while steep, wet cliffs guard the north, east, and south, and Kawaikini towers above other notable Kauaʻi peaks.

Wailua Homesteads, Hawaii · United States