Molokai

Molokai (mō'lōkī') [key], island (1990 pop. 6,587), 261 sq mi (676 sq km), Maui co., Hawaii, between Oahu and Maui islands. Molokai is generally mountainous, with Mt. Kamakou (4,970 ft/1,515 m) the highest peak. On the north coast, separated by a rocky mountain wall from the rest of the island and accessible only over a 2,000-ft (610-m) pass, is the Kalaupapa peninsula, on which a government leper colony exists (est. 1860). Molokai has many cattle ranches and pineapple plantations; the poor soil is unfit for the cultivation of sugarcane. The chief port is Kaunakakai (1990 pop. 2,658), from which the island's products are shipped to Honolulu for export.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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