KALAUPAPA

also called Makanalua, peninsula on the northern shore of Molokai island, Hawaii, U.S. Occupying a 10-square-mile (26-square-kilometre) plateau unsuited to agriculture, it is isolated from the rest of the island by 2,000-foot (600-metre) cliffs. Kalawao village, on the peninsula's east side, is now abandoned but was the site of the original Hansen's disease (leprosy) settlement established by King Kamehameha V in 1866. There from 1873 to 1889 Father Damien, the Belgian missionary, administered to the physical and spiritual needs of the lepers; his example drew many helpers to the colony. The entire peninsula is now occupied by the state leprosarium. Kalaupapa (meaning flat plain) is administered by the State Department of Health. The district is called Kalawao county but has no formal government and is represented in the state legislature as part of Maui county.