Puʻu Kukui

Puʻu Kukui is a mountain peak in Hawaiʻi, the highest of the West Maui Mountains (Mauna Kahalawai). The 5,788-foot (1,764 m) summit rises above the Puʻu Kukui Watershed Management Area, an 8,661-acre (35.05 km²) private nature preserve maintained by the Maui Land & Pineapple Company. The peak was formed by a volcano whose caldera eroded into what is now the Iao Valley.

Pu'u Kukui
Pu'u Kukui as seen from North Shore Maui
Highest point
Elevation	5,788 ft (1,764 m)[1]
Prominence	5,668 ft (1,728 m)[1]
Listing	US most prominent peaks 81st
Coordinates	20°53′26″N 156°35′11″W[1]
Geography
Pu'u Kukui Hawaii
Location	Maui, Hawaiʻi, U.S.
Parent range	Hawaiian Islands
Topo map	USGS Lahaina
Geology
Rock age	<1.3 Mega-annum
Mountain type	Eroded shield volcano
Volcanic arc/belt	Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain
Climbing
Easiest route	Hike

Puʻu Kukui receives an average of 386.5 inches (9,820 mm) of rain a year,^[2] making it one of the wettest spots on Earth^[3] and third wettest in the state after Big Bog on Maui and Mount Waiʻaleʻale on Kauai,^[4] Rainwater unable to drain away flows into a bog. The soil is dense, deep, and acidic.^[5]

Puʻu Kukui is home to many endemic plants, insects, and birds, including the greensword (Argyroxiphium grayanum), a distinctive bog variety of ʻōhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha var. pseudorugosa)^[6] and many lobelioid species. Due to the mountain peak's extreme climate and acidic peat soil, many species, such as the ʻōhiʻa, are represented as dwarfs. Access to the area is restricted to researchers and conservationists.

See also

• Oceania portal
• United States portal
• Hawaii portal
• Mountains portal
• Volcanoes portal
• List of mountain peaks of the United States
• Big Bog, Maui
• Mount Waialeale
  • List of volcanoes of the United States
    • List of mountain peaks of Hawaii
• List of Ultras of Oceania
• List of Ultras of the United States
• Hawaii hotspot
• Evolution of Hawaiian volcanoes
• Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain

References

1. "Puu Kukui, Hawaii". Peakbagger.com. 2004-11-01. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
2. "NOAA Hawaiʻi rain gauge summary". Pacific Islands Water Science Center. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
3. Juvik, Sonia P. (1998). Atlas of Hawaii. University of Hawaii Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-8248-2125-8.
4. "July 2008 Precipitation Summary". National Weather Service Forecast Office Honolulu, HI. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2008-09-04. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-20. The USGS gage on Puu Kukui lived up to expectation as the second wettest spot in the state by having the second highest total of 26.67 inches (79 percent of normal) below only Mount Waialeale's 30.30 inches.
5. Wianecki, Shannon (March 2007). "Rooted in Mystery". Maui Nō Ka ʻOi Magazine. 11 (2). Archived from the original on 2008-06-23. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
6. Percy, Diana M.; Adam M. Garver; Warren L. Wagner; Helen F. James; Clifford W. Cunningham; Scott E. Miller; Robert C. Fleischer (2008). "Progressive island colonization and ancient origin of Hawaiian Metrosideros (Myrtaceae)" (PDF). Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 275 (1642): 1479–90. doi:10.1098/rspb.2008.0191. PMC 2602662. PMID 18426752.

External links

• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Puʻu Kukui