Channels of the Hawaiian Islands 7 miles. ʻAlalākeiki means "crying baby." The Kealaikahiki Channel is the channel between Lānaʻi and Kahoʻolawe. It literally means "the road to Tahiti"; if one takes a bearing off of Kealaikahiki Point on Kahoʻolawe while in the channel and heads directly straight, one arrives, more or less, in Tahiti. In practice, however, Polynesian navigators probably did not quite ply a straight route to Tahiti. The channel is 17 miles wide. The ʻAuʻau Channel is one of the most protected areas of ocean in the Hawaiian Islands, lying between Lānaʻi and Maui. The channel is also protected by Molokaʻi to the
Channels of the Hawaiian Islands Molokaʻi Channel) separates the islands of Oʻahu and Molokaʻi, and is wide. Maximum depth is . There are annual paddleboarding and outrigger canoe paddling contests which traverse this channel. Ka Iwi means "the bone." The Kaʻieʻie Waho Channel separates the islands of Kauaʻi and Oʻahu, at a distance of . Kaʻieʻie Waho means "Outer Kaʻieʻie," named after the ʻieʻie vine ("Freycinetia arborea"). The maximum depth of the channel is over 11000 feet. The Kaulakahi Channel separates the islands of Niʻihau and Kauaʻi. It is wide. Kaulakahi translates to "the single flame (streak of color)." The Kumukahi Channel separates the islands