Maalaea Hawaii

Mā'alaea is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The name Mā’alaea comes from the Hawaiian word ‘alae, the iron oxide from volcanic eruptions that gives the region its iron-rich red earth. The CDP has a total area of 7.8 square miles (20.1 km2), of which 5.4 square miles of land and 2.3 miles of ocean. The population was 310 at the 2020 census, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The town was the site of a 15th century fishing village. In 1929, a World War I Navy pilot named Stanley C. Kennedy constructed Maui’s first airport: a 1,500-foot field field for his newly formed Inter-Island Airways. The airport is still open today and is listed on the National Historic Register of Buildings and Mauna Kea. The village is home to a massive heiau (ceremonial site), petroglyphs, kauhale (dwellings) and ko’a (fishing shrines), some of which remain on the hillsides above.