| North of Kanehoalani is the valley of Ka`a`awa (Turning passage). The name doubtless refers to the "passage" through the reef formed by the stream which empties through two channels some distance apart. There is a narrow beach and broad lagoon, not very well protected because the passage (awa) through the reef is so broad. At the end of the valley, by the sea, is a large swampy area. The valley was not a good wet-taro area, although there were terraces on either side of the stream wherever the ground was level. The now swampy or bog areas of this ahupua`a, both near the sea and in the upper valley, show evidences of former terracing. The present inhabited area extends northward from the valley's end as a fairly broad, flat coastal strip, flanked by the steep southeast wall of Pu`uomahie, a promontory that thrusts its bulk northeastward. Makaua is the narrow strip of land in the northern part of Ka`a`awa. Here there was a small stream that flowed only in rainy weather, but the flat and sloping habitable area of Ka`a`awa and Makaua must have been good only for sweet potatoes, and no doubt there were coconut trees along the shore. There is hardly any beach, but a high shore and a well-protected lagoon make this a good fishing locality. |