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West Maui Population: 18,009
Population figures are from the 2000 census
This is the Maui you are likely to see on postcards. It is, after all, the island's most bustling resort area. The beauty of the jagged West Maui mountains, with their deeply carved green valleys wreathed in mist, the golden sands of the beaches kissed by turquoise seas, and the familiar sight of boats bobbing in the Lahaina Harbor, are favored photographic and artistic subjects. They make the pictures of a promise of Paradise found.
The West Maui Mountains were once about 7,000 feet high. The top collapsed, forming a wide caldera. Erosion carved it down even further, and its highest point, Puu Kukui, now stands at 5,788 feet. At one time, it is said, the West Maui volcano stood at more than 25,000 feet from its base on the ocean floor.
What is left of the volcano crater is deep within the peaks at the head of Iao Valley. From this crater several valleys radiate outward: Iao, Kahakuloa, Ukumehame, Olowalu and Honokohau.
Famed as the former capitol of the Hawaiian kingdom, Lahaina and the surrounding area was the playground of kings, with a historic port town that welcomed the rowdy, raunchy crews from the whaling ships in the early 1800s, as well as the headquarters of the missionaries who came to the islands to rescue pagan souls.
West Maui became a tourist mecca in the mid-1960s.
Weather Overview
With the exception of Pu'u Kukui, a lush dormant volcano high above the sea in the clouds, and Kapalua, the North most part of this area,West Maui receives the least rainfall on Maui. In Lahaina town only 16.68 inches of annual rainfall was recorded in 1997 which makes this town a mecca for tourists seeking sunny weather and ocean activities. Because West Maui does not directly face the trade winds, the temperature is also a little bit higher than other areas of Maui.
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