Molokai

Molokai

Molokai , or Molokaʻi (Hawaiian: [ˈmoloˈkɐi, ˈmoloˈkɐʔi]), is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) in size at its greatest length and width with a usable land area of 260 square miles (673.40 km2), making it the fifth-largest of the main Hawaiian Islands and the 27th largest island in the United States. It lies southeast of Oʻahu across the 25-mile (40 km) wide Kaʻiwi Channel and north of Lānaʻi, separated from it by the Kalohi Channel. The island's agrarian economy has been driven primarily by cattle ranching, pineapple production, sugarcane production and small-scale farming. Tourism comprises a small fraction of the island's economy, and much of the infrastructure related to tourism was closed and barricaded in the early 2000s when the primary landowner, Molokai Ranch, ceased operations due to substantial revenue losses. In Kalawao County, on the Kalaupapa Peninsula on the north coast, settlements were established in 1866 for quarantined treatment of persons with leprosy; these operated until 1969. The Kalaupapa National Historical Park now preserves this entire county and area. Several other islands are visible from the shores of Molokaʻi, including Oʻahu from the west shores; Lānaʻi from the south shores, and Maui from the south and east shores.

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