Channels of the Hawaiian Islands Maui. Although the channel is only about at its shortest point, it is one of the windiest and roughest in the Hawaiian Islands. The Kalohi Channel is the stretch of water separating Lānaʻi and Molokaʻi. Depth of water in this channel is about and width is . This is one of the less treacherous channels between islands in the archipelago, although strong winds and choppy sea conditions are frequent. Kalolohia beach on the Lānaʻi coast is also known as "Shipwreck Beach" because of a wreck on the reef there. Kalohi means "the slowness." The Kaiwi Channel (also known as the
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands part, intact. The extensive coral reefs found in Papahānaumokuākea are home to over 7,000 marine species. Of the many species that live here, over 1,700 species of organisms are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands (i.e., they are found nowhere else). For this reason, the region has been dubbed "America's Galápagos". Though not subject to nearly as much extinction as the main islands, the Leeward Islands have had their share of abuse. From the late 19th to the early 20th centuries, fishermen, guano miners, and feather hunters killed most of the birds and sea life living in the NWHI. Rabbits were