Haleakala crater, Maui, Hawaii

View of Haleakala crater looking toward the eastern wall of the crater and Kaupo Gap, a large stream-cut canyon on the southeastern side, partly filled in by lava flows. Haleakala (lit. *House of the Sun*) is one of Hawaii's youngest volcanoes (750,000 years) still considered active, having last erupted in 1790. The summit is 10,023 feet (3,000 meters) in elevation. The crater is 3000ft. deep, and coves an area of 7.5 miles x 2.5 miles. Because of its barren terrain and "lunar landscape" American astronauts trained here prior to making their epic voyage to the moon. The hiking trail across the crater is 11 miles long and traverses some amazing scenery from the dry alpine zone at the summit past red, yellow and gray cinder cones, black lava flows then descends through the lush rainforest and ferns of Kaupo Gap or kaukauai Gulch, often in the rain or dripping with mist (rainfall here is 250" or 630cm / year), on the eastern side, to Kaupo or the refreshing pools of Kipahulu on the south-eastern coast of the ...