Maui, Island of Contrast

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Maui, Island of Contrast

Photograph by Rande Zechoval

A near 45-degree slope alternating between jagged protrusions and finely smoothed red and black sands descends from a summit ridge above Haleakala crater to the valley floor below in early morning Hawaiian sunlight on the island of Maui. Strongly shadowed clouds in the distance cruise by at a quick pace, water droplets stuck in an inversion layer that blankets the crater rim at one moment, and frees it from any moisture whatsoever the next.

We’ve featured the “House of the Sun”–Maui’s Haleakala National Park–a few times here at Hawaii Picture of the Day, and to us, every new photo of this beautiful volcanic crater is another opportunity to see the striking contrasts of the island. From the arid, frigid land at the top of Haleakala to the lush green tropical forests just below at its foundations; from bright blue skies to red and black sands; from fully exposed to discretely invisible.

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