Molokaʻi: the leper colony

Molokaʻi is known as the long time residence of Father Damien de Veuster, a Belgian priest and canonized Roman Catholic saint who cared for sufferers of Hansen's Disease, also known as leprosy. Historically, a small north shore colony on Molokaʻi, Kalaupapa, was a refuge for sufferers of Hansen's Disease, but there are no active cases of Hansen's Disease on Molokaʻi today. Those who continue to live in the settlement are patients who chose to stay after the segregation policy was lifted in 1969.

Molokaʻi is built from two distinct shield volcanoes known as East Molokaʻi and the much smaller West Molokaʻi. The highest point is Kamakou on East Molokaʻi, at 4,970 feet (1,510 m). East Molokaʻi volcano, like the Koʻolau Range on Oʻahu, is today only what remains standing of the southern half of the original mountain. The northern half suffered a catastrophic collapse about 1.5 million years ago and now lies as a debris field scattered northward across the Pacific Ocean bottom, while what remains on the island are the highest sea cliffs in the world. Views of these sea cliffs are presented in the movie Jurassic Park III. The south shore of Molokaʻi boasts the longest fringing reef in the U.S. and its holdings—nearly 25 miles (40 km) long.