Maui Facts

1. Haleakala, Maui's most famous volcano, is the largest dormant volcano in the world. The crater is 21 miles across and 4,000 feet deep. A fun fact…that's large enough to hold the island of Manhattan!

2. Maui has been voted the "Best Island in the World" 16 times by Conde Nast Traveler Magazine.

3. Interesting fact: There are 8 main islands that make up Hawaii (Oahu, Maui, the Big Island, Molokai, Lanai, Kaho'olawe, Kauai, and Ni'ihau) but in all, there are about 130 islands and atolls that make up the entire Hawaiian island archipelago.

 4. The island of Ka'aholawe, which you can see from Maui was used by the Navy during WWII for target practice. There are still many areas on the island that are off limits, as undetonated bombs litter the landscape. Another fun fact… If you go on a snorkeling trip to Maui's small crescent moon island of Molokini, you can see missile indentations in the backside slopes as well.

5. Before Honolulu became the capital of the Hawaiian Islands in 1850, Maui's whaling town of Lahaina held the honor.

6. Lahainaluna High School, founded in 1831, is the oldest school west of the Rocky Mountains. The school also possessed the first printing press used in the western United States. In the early days it was used by the missionaries to print religious passages, and later used printing Hawaiian currency and even producing a Maui newspaper.

 7. The Hawaii State bird is the Nene goose. It is an adaptation of the Canadian goose, and is believed to have migrated to the Hawaiian Islands over 500,000 years ago from Canada. They can only be found in Hawaii, and at one point their population dwindled to as low as 30 birds.

8. Random fact: A tiny bird called the Kolea, or golden plover, flies roundtrip to Alaska and back annually each summer to mate and nurse young.

9. Happy Face Spiders are only found in Hawaii. They have distinct colorful formations on their backs which often times resemble a yellow smiley face. Pretty interesting fact!

10. The largest Banyan tree in the world is found in Lahaina, Maui. It was originally planted as an 8 foot tree in 1873 and has grown to inhabit an entire acre.

11. Surprisingly the Maui Gold Brand of pineapples possess three times the amount of vitamin C as other brands of pineapple. Who knew?

12. Honokohau Falls is Maui's largest waterfall, which is over 1100 feet high.  It is located in the West Maui Mountains and best seen by helicopter.