Molokini crater, Maui, Hawaii, USA 6 Aug 2024

Molokini crater, Maui, Hawaii, USA

Today we"re in Molokini Crater. 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

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