WAIALEALE, MOUNT

peak, central Kauai Island, Hawaii, U.S. Waialeale ("Rippling Water"), with a height of 5,148 feet (1,569 m), is a dissected (eroded) dome that is part of a central mountain mass which includes Kawaikini (5,243 feet ), the island's highest peak, immediately south. Waialeale is located at the southeastern edge of an extinct caldera that is now a plateau called Alakai Swamp. Shrouded in clouds, Waialeale is one of the world's wettest spots. Over a period of 32 years the average annual rainfall was 460 inches (11,685 mm), the highest in the world. In 1982, 666 inches (16,916 mm) of rain were recorded on the peak, establishing an official record. Only a few miles away, however, the rainfall drops dramatically to only 10 inches (250 mm) a year. Deep faulting and water erosion have carved canyons in the mountain's flanks. Three valleys radiate northward: Wainiha, Lumahai, and Hanalei. To the west of Mount Waialeale is Waimea Canyon, Hawaii's "Little Grand Canyon." The focus of a state park, this canyon is 25 miles (40 km) long and 1 mile (1.6 km) wide, ranges from more than 0.5 mile in depth, and is often viewed from Puukapele (3,662 feet ), a peak on its western edge. Mount Waialeale's mass supplies numerous waterfalls, sending down rushing streams on all sides to feed the only navigable rivers in the state. The main rivers are the Waimea, Wailua, Makaweli, and Hanapepe.