Vacation Rental in Princeville Kauai

and Kauai Travel Guide

©B.Pruitt 2009-2012

Geography of Kauai

The Tropic of Cancer bisects the 132 protuberances of lava and coral that make up the Hawaiian archipelago.  At the northwest end, at 28.15° N latitude and rising only 20 feet above the sea is Kure Atoll. Anchoring the chain at the southeast end is the largest island, Hawaii, which soars to 13,796 feet.  With the exception of the five Midway Islands (administered by the U.S. Navy), this chain of shoals, reefs, islets and islands compose the State of Hawaii.  Kauai is the oldest and the most northerly of the eight main Hawaiian Islands.  A tropical island, Kauai lies between 21° 50' N and 22° 15' N latitude.  Hong Kong, Mecca and Calcutta share the same latitudes.

The eight main islands clustered at the southeast end of the island chain comprise more than 99 percent of the state’s land area of 6,425 square miles.  In order of size they are: Hawai‘i, Maui, O‘ahu, Kaua‘i, Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i, Ni‘ihau and Kaho‘olawe.  Ni‘ihau is privately owned and off-limits to the public.  The U.S. Navy until recently used uninhabited Kaho'olawe as a practice target.  Hawai‘i is the fourth smallest of the United States—larger than Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island.

Sitting alone in the North Pacific, the Hawaiian Islands are the most isolated landmasses on earth.  Kauai lies 2,300 miles from both California and Alaska and 3,800 miles from Tokyo, Japan.  Tahiti is 2,500 miles away and Sidney, Australia, 5,100.

It is two hours earlier in Kauai than in North America’s Pacific Time Zone, three hours earlier than Mountain Time, four hours before Central Time and five hours earlier than the Eastern Time Zone.  In the other direction, Sidney Australia is four hours earlier than Kauai and Tokyo, Japan is five hours earlier.  Since Hawaii does not observe daylight-saving time, the differences with North America become one hour greater during the summer months.

Kauai is nearly circular in shape with its extremes measuring 25 miles by 33 miles.  Sixty five percent of the land is within five miles of the coast with no point being more than 10.8 miles inland.  The mean elevation is 1,380 feet with 65 percent of the land above 500 feet and 24 percent above 2,000 feet.  Fifty percent of the land has a slope greater than 20 percent.

The high points of the greatly eroded volcano that formed Kauai, called Wai‘ale‘ale, remain at the island's interior.  A mile-long ridge joins the peaks of Mt. Wai‘ale‘ale (5,148') and Kawaikini (5,243') to the south.  

Extending nearly ten miles northwest of the summit peaks and covering an area of 30 square miles, the Alaka‘i Swamp submerges a cliff-bound plateau.  Rainwater is collected and stored in the Alaka‘i Swamp at elevations between 4,000 and 5,000 feet.  Accessible only by hiking trails, it has the highest elevation of any swamp on the planet.  This soggy patch of mire soaks up the near constant rain like a sponge.  Broad, shallow valleys traverse the swamp to form drainage lines that carry off the water in a wheel-spoke pattern, feeding seven rivers.  Drainage is slow and water stands in pools over shallow depressions.  Dense growths of grasses and moss grow over the nearly still water.  Trees, stunted and gnarled by wind, rain and little sunshine, mark a century's passing with growth of a few inches.  The Alaka‘i Swamp's isolation provides a safe haven for species of rare plants and birds found nowhere else in the world.

The Nā Pali coastline forms a 4,000-foot-high and 15-mile-long bulwark against the North Pacific on Kauai's northwest shore.  Nā Pali, which means "the cliffs" in Hawaiian, is marked with steep valleys, coastal caves and precipitous ridges.  Erosion from rain and wind has carved spires and knife-like serrations in the cliffs.  The remote and rugged coastline is accessible only by the Kalalau hiking trail or, in the summer, by zodiac boats and kayaks.

Between the Nā Pali coast and the Alaka‘i Swamp, running water continues to carve the Waimea Canyon.  Often called "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific," Waimea Canyon presents vistas similar to its namesake, complete with stratified layers of rust, copper, gold and aluminum-colored rock.  The two cascades of Waipo‘o Falls combine for a total drop of 800 feet in the canyon, producing the highest waterfall on the island.  Snaking through the canyon for 19.7 miles is the Waimea River, Kaua‘i's longest.  The canyon reaches depths of 3,000 feet and forms a 14-mile long gorge from the island's interior south to the sea.  Joined with the Olokele Canyon to the east, the canyons chisel an expanse of rock ten miles wide.  

The southwest and south coast is the leeward side of Kauai and much of its arid acres are planted in sugarcane and coffee.  Irrigation of the sugar cane is essential in this hot and sunny area.  Waitā Reservoir, built to feed water to the cane fields, covers 424 acres north of Kōloa, making it the largest body of fresh water in Hawaii.

Knudsen Gap separates the Hā'upu Range, which stretches for nine miles in Kauai's southeast corner, from the island's mountainous heart.  Also called Hoary Head ridge, the range reaches 2,297 feet at Mt. Hā‘upu and separates the sugar cane fields and resorts of the south shore from the island's most populated areas along the east coast.  

The Wailua River drains the Alaka‘i Swamp to the east.  Passenger boats can ease their way upstream for three miles–making it the only navigable river in Hawaii.  Running at right angles to the river are the small mountain ranges of Kālepa Ridge to the south and Nounou Ridge to the north.  Nounou Ridge is more commonly known as Sleeping Giant.

Another small mountain range, the Anahola Mountains, stand on the northeast corner of the island, marking the start of the North Shore.  Here on the windward side, the precipitation is heavier than on the other coasts and as a result the vegetation is lush, thick and green.  At the heart of the North Shore is Hanalei Bay, the largest bay on Kauai.  The Hanalei River discharges 140 million gallons of water per day into the bay–the largest average volume from any river on Kauai.

There are no large cities in Kauai.  The most populous towns are the east coast's Kapa‘a and Līhu‘e.  Līhu‘e is the administrative seat of Kauai County, which includes the islands of Kauai, and Ni‘ihau.  Līhu‘e has the only airport with scheduled flights and nearby Nāwiliwili Bay hosts the busiest seaport.

Kauai is the least populated of the four counties in the state.  In 2000, the Federal Census counted Kauai County's population at 58,463.  That was a 14 percent increase over the previous decade's census count of 51,177.  The median age of the county's residents increased from 34 in 1990 to 38 in 2000.  The nation's mean age in 2000 was 35.  Part of the aging phenomenon is explained by Kauai's desirability for retirees and the need of many young people to move to the mainland to pursue careers.

Times of Sunrise and Sunset and Hours of Daylight at Lihu‘e

                        Sunrise  Sunset  Hours of Daylight

Only In Hawaii

Since it occurs only in the tropics, Hawaii is the only state in the nation to experience the phenomenon of Lahaina Noon—the high noon when the sun is exactly overhead.  The rest of the nation recognizes the summer solstice as the event when the sun's rays are closest to being direct in the northern hemisphere.  Hawaii and other locations south of the Tropic of Cancer receive the sun's direct rays as the apparent path of the sun passes overhead before the solstice and retreats to the south afterwards.  

At the exact time of Lahaina Noon, which can occur anywhere from 12:17 to 12:43 p.m., objects that stand straight up (like flagpoles, telephone poles, etc.) will not cast a shadow.  The most southerly points in Hawaii experience Lahaina Noon on earlier and later dates than the northern parts.  Hilo on the Big Island encounters the overhead sun around May 18 and July 24, Kahului, Maui on May 24 and July 18, Honolulu, Oahu on May 26 and July 15 and Līhu‘e, Kauai on May 31 and July 11.  

Chosen in a contest sponsored by the Bishop Museum several years ago, Lahaina Noon was the selected appellation because it means "cruel sun," which is what the sun feels like when it is directly overhead.

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