The Makaleha Mountains (pronounced or in Hawaiian) are a mountain range in Kauaʻi County on the eastern side of the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi. The highest point is approximately above sea level.
The derivation of the place name Makaleha is the Hawaiian word makaleha (from maka "eye" and leha "to lift up") meaning "to wonder at; to admire" or "to lift the eyebrows, as in wonder or admiration".Makaleha Mountains, Hawaiian Place Names.Lorrin Andrews and Henry H. Parker (1922), A Dictionary of the Hawaiian Language, p. 402.
Makaleha pritchardia or Pritchardia hardyi is an endangered species of Arecaceae palm tree that is endemic to Hawaiian tropical rainforests on Kauaʻi. In 1998 only 30 individuals remained in the wild along Powerline Trail between Wailua and Princeville.Pritchardia hardyi, 2017 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Footnotes
External links Google map Makaleha Mountains place names