Description
In the rainy winter season, high water levels enlarge the freshwater pond to more than 400 acres (1.6 km2). By spring, water levels begin dropping and by summer, the pond shrinks to half its winter size, leaving a salty residue behind: this accounts for its name, "Kealia", meaning "salt encrusted place"; Coastal salt pans once produced the mineral from seawater. The low water levels cause a 98% dieback in the tilapia population, which can produce a foul stench in the area.
Kealia was once an ancient fishpond supplied with water from the Waikapu Stream in the West Maui Mountains and Kolaloa Gulch originating from Haleakalā. Native Hawaiians may have raised awa (milkfish, Chanos chanos) and amaʻama (flathead mullet, Mugil cephalus) using a system of ditches and sluice gates to let nearby fish from Māʻalaea Beach into the pond.
Towards the west, the area between Kealia and the town of Māʻalaea contains another shallow pond and mudflats that are also used by the birds during the winter and spring flooding. When the mudflats dry out during the summer, the birds move to Kealia Pond. This area was once a runway serving one of Maui's first airports, Māʻalaea Airport. During World War II, Kealia Pond was used for training the 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions.
Read more about this topic: Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge
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