Molokini crater, Maui, Hawaii, USA Aug 6, 2024

Molokini crater, Maui, Hawaii, USA

Today we"re in Molokini Crater, in Hawaii, USA. This pleasant crescent in the Pacific Ocean lies in the "Alalākeiki Channel between the Hawaiian Islands of Maui and Kaho"olawe. The islet is all that remains of a volcano that erupted about 230,000 years ago. According to Hawaiian mythology, Pele the fire goddess was in love with a man named Mo"o. The trouble was that Mo"o was in love with another woman. Pele"s revenge was typically violent: she cut her rival in two, her body becoming Molokini, while her head became Pu"u Olai, a cinder cone on Maui.

© Douglas Peebles/eStock Photo

palette

Today in History

A mirror reflecting natures beauty
A salty situation
Aug 6, 2025Ring-tailed lemur
Aug 6, 2026Migrating wildebeest crossing Mara River in Masai Mara, Kenya

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Nature, art, and...math?
Apr 9, 2025Naxos, Cyclades, Greece
Aug 25, 2025Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States
May 18, 2025International Museum Day
Jul 18, 2025Turquoise waters of the Bahamas
A modern recreation
Jul 29, 2025International Tiger Day
Jun 14, 2026Mallard duck
Mar 28, 2024Cherry blossoms in Shanghai, China
May 29, 2025Miravet, Catalonia, Spain
Oct 12, 2025Village of Saranac Lake, New York, United States
Blood moon
May 31, 2025Knuthöjdsmossen nature reserve, Sweden
Fit for a fairytale
Nov 13, 2024Sea lion in a kelp forest, Baja California, Mexico
Sep 19, 2025Thousand Islands region, St. Lawrence River, USA-Canada border
Jun 7, 2026Ruins of Dunseverick Castle, Northern Ireland
Sep 20, 2024Ocracoke Lighthouse on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, USA
Remembering the Mahatma
Flying the flag for Pride
May 27, 2025Mona Vale rockpool, Sydney, Australia
Nov 15, 2023Rapa Valley in Sarek National Park, Sweden
Mar 14, 2025Lathmar Holi
Stretching out in the Everglades
Dec 9, 2024Two Guanacos, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
Jun 4, 2025Cala Luna beach, Sardinia, Italy
An underwater paradise to explore
Mar 19, 2026Short-beaked echidna, Adelaide Hills, Australia
Oct 2, 2023Gandhi Jayanti
Mar 17, 2025Samuel Beckett Bridge, Dublin, Ireland