Show off your knowlege of the islands with Our Maui Fun Facts page. You'll find fun trivia facts about Maui that's sure to impress your family and friends.
This information, while it might not be essential to the success of your travels in Maui, may help you more enjoy, appreciate and respect the variety and uniqueness that you'll discover in Maui.
Come back here often, because every couple of days we will update both our homepage (under Maui Fun Fact) and this page with the latest Maui Fun Facts.
In modern times, tourism is the dominant contributor to Maui's economy.
Maui is a leading whale-watching center in the Hawaiian Islands due to the fact that many Humpback whales winter in the sheltered Auau Channel between the islands of Maui county. The whales migrate approximately 3,500 miles (5,600 km) from Alaskan waters each autumn and spend the northern hemisphere winter months mating and birthing in the warm waters off Maui.
The whales are typically sighted in pods: small groups of several adults and one or more calves. Humpbacks are an endangered species protected by U.S. federal and Hawaii state law. There are estimated to be about 3000 humpbacks in the North Pacific.
Conde' Nast Traveler 2005 Readers' Choice Award again named Maui "Best Island" for the twelfth year in a row.
Native Hawaiian tradition gives the origin of the island's name in the legend of Hawaiiloa, the Polynesian navigator attributed with discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. The story relates how he named the island of Maui after his son who in turn was named for the demi-god Maui. According to legend, the demi-god Maui raised all the Hawaiian Islands from the sea.
Maui is an important center for astronomy with the Haleakala High Altitude Observatory Site (including the Air Force Research Laboratory and Maui Space Surveillance System). It is considered one of the five best astronomical and space surveillance sites in the world. Year-round it monitors satellites, missiles, man-made orbital debris and astronomical objects. (There are no public tours conducted at the Haleakala Observatories.)
Captain James Cook "discovered" Maui on November 26, 1778, although he never set foot on the island, being unable to find a suitable landing. The first European to visit Maui was the French admiral Jean François de Galaup de La Perouse, who landed on the shores of what is now known as La Perouse Bay on May 29, 1786.
Polynesians, from Tahiti and the Marquesas, were the original peoples to populate Maui.
The last eruption of Haleakala occurred around 1790, and the resulting lava flow can be viewed between Ahihi Bay and La Perouse Bay on the southwest shore of East Maui.
East Maui Volcano (more commonly called Haleakala after its famous summit depression) is the larger and younger of the two dormant island volcanoes, and rises above 10,023 feet (3,050 m).
The top of the West Maui mountain receives over 400 inches (10 m) of rainfall per year.
Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at 727 square miles (1883 kmē).
