Channels of the Hawaiian Islands of Niʻihau and Lehua. Kumukahi means "first beginning." The Hoʻomoʻa Channel separates the islands of Lehua and Nihoa. Hoʻomoʻa means "to cook." The Hawaiʻiloa Channel to the northwest of the islands of Nihoa. Named after Hawaiʻiloa, hero of an ancient Hawaiian legend about the settling of the Hawaiian Islands. Channels of the Hawaiian Islands In an archipelago like the Hawaiian Islands the water between islands is typically called a "channel" or "passage". Described here are the channels between the islands of Hawaiʻi, arranged from southeast to northwest. The ʻAlenuihāhā separates the island of Hawaiʻi and the island of Maui. The
Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Take Tomson, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Athline Clark, U.S. Coast Guard: Eric Roberts and Charter Tschirgi, U.S. Navy: Janice Fukawa, Western Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Council (voting): Eric King Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary is one of the world's most important whale habitats, hosting thousands of humpbacks ("Megaptera novaeangliae") each winter. The sanctuary encompasses in the islands' waters. It was designated by United States Congress on November 4, 1992, as a National Marine Sanctuary to protect the endangered North Pacific humpback whale and its habitat The sanctuary promotes management,