KOHALA MOUNTAINS

volcanic range, northern Hawaii Island, Hawaii, U.S. The mountains extend 21 miles (34 km) north from Waimea to Upolu Point and reach a high point at Kaunu-o-Kaleoohie (5,505 feet ). The mountains consist of an eroded dome, 22 miles long and 15 miles wide, and cover an area of 234 square miles (606 square km). The younger western slopes have a thin soil covering, in contrast with the eastern slopes. The southern slopes have been buried under later Mauna Kea lavas forming the Waimea Plateau (2,875 feet ). The Kohala Ditch (c. 1920) tunnels water along the mountaintops to the northern sugarcane fields.