Hanalei Pier, Hanalei Bay, Kauai, Hawaii

Hanalei Bay is the largest bay on the north shore of Kauaʻi island in

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 ...

. The town of Hanalei is at the midpoint of the bay.

Geography

Hanalei Bay consists of nearly of beach, surrounded by mountains. In the summer, the bay offers excellent mooring for sailboats, stand up paddle boarding and swimming. The Princeville community overlooks from the northeast entrance to the bay of Hanalei River, . During the winter the surf becomes large and the bay is a favorite surfing location.

History

The wetlands of Hanalei Bay were used to grow

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 ...

ancient Hawaii Ancient Hawaii is the period of Hawaiian history preceding the unification in 1810 of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great. Traditionally, researchers estimated the first settlement of the Hawaiian islands as having occurred sporadicall ...

ans. By the 1860s, the new crop was

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

, which was shipped to

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

to become the second largest export crop of the islands. The

Hanalei Pier Hanalei Pier is a pier built into Hanalei Bay on the northern shore of the island of Kauai in the state of Hawaii. History The wetlands of Hanalei Bay were used to grow taro by ancient Hawaiians. By the 1860s, the shrinking population of nati ...

was built to help Hanalei farmers move their crops to market. The covered pier's location near the mouth of the Hanalei River and Black Pot beach has long been a favorite family gathering place for fishing, picnicking, swimming, and playing. On April 5, 1824, King

Kamehameha II Kamehameha II (November 1797 – July 14, 1824) was the second king of the Kingdom of Hawaii. His birth name was Liholiho and full name was Kalaninui kua Liholiho i ke kapu ʻIolani. It was lengthened to Kalani Kaleiʻaimoku o Kaiwikapu o Laʻ ...

's royal yacht, '' Pride of Hawaii'', sank near the mouth of the Waiʻoli River, , on the southwest corner of the bay after its crew struck a reef a hundred yards offshore. It is believed the captain and crew were drunk at the time. A large section of the ship's hull ''washed ashore in 1844 in a winter storm surge, but most of this historic wreck remains buried in silt in the bay. In 1995–2000, archaeologists from the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

's National Museum of American History excavated the wreck and recovered more than'' 1,200 artifacts. During this excavation, a section of the stern was discovered, documented, and then re-buried where it was discovered. The Waiʻoli mission at the southwest included a school and church since the 1830s. ''Japanese author

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer. His novels, essays, and short stories have been bestsellers in Japan and internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and having sold millions of copies outside Japan. He has received numerous awards for his ...

wrote a short story entitled "Hanalei Bay" set in the area. The story is included in the collection

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is a collection of 24 short stories by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. The stories contained in the book were written between 1980 and 2005, and published in Japan in various magazines and collections. The contents of this compilation was selec ...

. Hanalei Bay also served as a good filming location for the 1958 film South Pacific and for the 2011 film

The Descendants ''The Descendants'' is a 2011 American comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne. The screenplay by Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash is based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The film stars George Clooney in the mai ...

.''

References

External links

{{Commons category
EPA.gov Hanalei Watershed
Bays of Hawaii Bodies of water of Kauai Tourist attractions in Kauai County, Hawaii