Kona is the name of a
moku or district on the Big Island of Hawai
i
in the State
of Hawaii. In the current system of administration of
Hawaii County, the
moku of
Kona is divided into
North Kona District (
Kona
‘Akau) and
South Kona District (
Kona
Hema).
The term "Kona" is sometimes used to refer to
its largest town, Kailua-Kona
. Other towns in Kona include Kealakekua
, Keauhou
, Holualoa
,
Hōnaunau
and
Honalo
.
In the
Hawaiian language,
kona means
leeward or dry side of
the island, as opposed to
ko‘olau which means
windward or the wet side of the island. In the
times of
Ancient Hawaiʻi,
Kona was the name of the leeward district on each major
island. In Hawai‘i, the Pacific
anticyclone provides moist prevailing
northeasterly winds to the Hawaiian islands, resulting in
rain when the winds contact the
windward landmass of the islands - the winds subsequently lose
their moisture and travel on to the leeward (or
kona) side
of the island. When this pattern reverses, it can produce a
Kona storm from the West.
Kona
has
cognates with the same meaning in other
Polynesian languages.
In Tongan,
the equivalent cognate would be tonga
; for
windward, the associated cognate would be tokelau
.
Kona is
the home of the world-famous Ironman World Championship
Triathlon which is held each year in October in Kailua-Kona
.The Kealakekua Bay State Historical
Park
marks the
place where Captain James Cook was killed
in 1779. Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau
National Historical Park
and Honokohau
Settlement and Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical
Park
are in Kona.
The
volcanic slopes of Hualālai
and Mauna Loa
in the Kona
district provide an ideal microclimate
for growing coffee. Kona coffee is considered one of the premium
specialty coffees of the world.
Sights in the Kona district
References
- Juvik, Sonia P., 1998, Atlas of Hawaii, University of
Hawaii Press, ISBN 978-0824821258
- Kona Historical Society, 1997, A Guide to Old Kona,
University of Hawaii Press, ISBN 978-0824820107
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