Pristine Beaches and Verdant Mountains Create Island Paradise
As the northernmost Hawaiian Island, Kauai is known as much for its rugged, scenic mountains as its expansive tropical beaches.
The fourth largest Hawaiian Island, Kauai is also the oldest Hawaiian Island having formed about five million years ago. The island totals about 550 square miles, and is the only Hawaiian Island that is approximately round.
With ninety miles of coastline, Kauai has more beaches per mile of coastline than any other Hawaiian Island. The beaches are also the nicest since nature has had more time to create the fine white and golden sands that line the island’s clear blue waters.
Kauai is 33 miles wide by 25 miles long, and the highest elevation on the island is 5,243 feet above sea level at the top of Mt. Kawaikini. This peak is right near Mt. Waialeale which reaches 5,148 feet and considered to be the wettest spot in the world.
These two volcanoes formed the island, once rising to more than 8,000 feet. The volcanoes became extinct millions of years ago as the processes of erosion continued to slowly wear away the island’s summits.
Kauai’s advanced age along with the effects of wind, waves, and rain have created the island’s amazing features from the green furrowed mountains and steep seacliffs of the Na Pali Coast to the massive gorge of Waimea Canyon.
The people of Kaua‘i are known for having resisted the rule of King Kamehameha I long after he conquered the other Hawaiian Islands. In 1810, Kaua‘i’s paramount ruler King Kaumuali‘i finally ceded Kaua‘i to King Kamehameha to avoid impending war against the ruler’s powerful army.
In recent decades Kauai has become a favorite of Hollywood producers with many major motion pictures being filmed on the island including Jurassic Park, King Kong, Raiders of the Lost Ark and many more. Just in the last two years the new Pirate’s of the Caribbean movie and George Clooney’s Descendants were filmed on Kauai.
With immaculate beaches, lush green mountains and cascading waterfalls, Kauai is truly one of the world’s most beautiful islands. Kauai is also a place with a rich history and culture, and a vibrant Aloha Spirit that shines brightly from the Kauai people.