Maui: Place To Live And Work

Maui is the second largest island of the Hawaiian Islands, and the 17th largest island in the United States. With a population of 144,444 (as of 2010), Maui is the third most populated Hawaiian Island. Maui’s original name was “‘Ihikapalaumaewa”. The island’s current name came from the Polynesian navigator credited with discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. According to that legend, Hawai’iloa named the island of Maui after his son, who in turn was named for the demigod Maui. Another name for Maui is “Valley Isle” because of the large and numerous valleys carved between the island’s northwestern and southeastern volcanoes.

The island’s volcanoes are just a couple examples of places tourists like to visit when they are on Maui. Also popular amongst tourists are the Haleakala National Park, the Hana Highway, and Lahaina, which is a gateway to the beach resorts of Kaanapali and Kapalua. Tourism is a huge industry for Maui, bringing in over $3.5 billion in 2007, with a majority of the tourist coming from the US and Canada.

Along with the importance of the tourism dollars for Maui, agriculture has a significant role in the Maui economy. Coffee, papaya, sugar, pineapples, and beautiful tropical flowers are some examples of Maui’s diverse agricultural exports.

More recently, government research groups and high technology companies have discovered Maui as a business environment conducive to growth in these areas. As a result, the Maui High Performance Computing Center (MHPCC) in Kihei is a U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory Center providing over 10,000,000 hours of computing time per year to the research, science, and military communities.

The high elevation, dry climate and negligible pollution offer year-round ability to observe satellites, missiles, orbital debris, and astronomical objects, making Maui an excellent locale for astronomical research and development, as well as a wonderful location for the astronomy hobbyist.

The remainder of the large Hawaiian Islands include Hawaii (The Big Island), Kaua’i (The Garden Isle), Kaho’olawe (The Target Island), Lana’i (The Pineapple Island), Moloka’i (The Friendly Island), Ni’ihau (The Forbidden Isle), and O’ahu (The Gathering Place). The Hawaiian Islands are actually exposed mountaintops of the undersea mountain range called the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain, which was created by volcanic activity. Located about 1,800 miles from the nearest continent, the Hawaiian Islands have always been, and will always be, a destination of choice where a person can go to truly get away from it all.

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