Wailau is an isolated valley on the North Shore of the island of

Molokai Molokai , or Molokai (), is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its greatest length an ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, It can be reached by boat (only in the summer), helicopter or by Wailau Trail from the southeast shore of the island which is heavily overgrown and virtually impassable in places. The valley was an ancient ahupuaa, and well-populated until the 19th century, and contained many

taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...

plantations. The valley is nearly unpopulated today, although Molokai residents occasionally camp by the beach at the mouth of the valley in the summer.

Geography

Wailau valley was formed by stream erosion of the Wailau River, after the massive collapse of the

East Molokai Volcano The East Molokai Volcano, sometimes also known as Wailau for the Wailau valley on its north side, is an extinct shield volcano comprising the eastern two-thirds of the island of Molokai in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Description The East Molokai ...

enabled streams from this part of the island to flow north. Numerous major landmarks dominate the area, such as Olokui,

's second highest peak, and the Kukuinui Ridge. Others such as Malahini Cave are very difficult to access. In the

Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language o ...

''wai lau'' literally means "many waters".

References

Valleys of Hawaii Former populated places in Hawaii Landforms of Molokai {{Hawaii-geo-stub