Haleakala National Park in Maui County, Hawaii covers 134.62 km2 (51.97 sq mi) with its combination of stark volcanic landscape and subtropical rainforest. Around 58% of the park is designated wilderness. It is divided into two separate sections, the summit of the world's largest dormant volcano, after which the park is named; and the Kipahulu area, which is on the coast.
Featured flora includes a forest of trees from overseas including deodar from the Himalayas, eucalyptus from Australia, sugi from Japan, and varieties from North America (amongst others, spruce, fir, cypress and pine). Indigenous plants and trees also grow in the forest. Nene (Hawaiian Geese) can also be seen in their natural habitat, having been re-introduced in 1946 by Boy Scouts who took nestlings into the crater in their backpacks. `Ua`u, the Hawaiian Petrel, can also be spotted along with many beautiful types of Honeycreeper birds.
The park welcomes over 956,000 visitors per annum.
The park’s main feature is the volcano. Its crater is gigantic: 11.25 km (6.99 mi) across, 3.2 km (2.0 mi) wide, and about 790 m (2,600 ft) deep. The name Haleakala is Hawaiian for "house of the sun." In local legend, the demigod Maui confined the sun here to make the day longer. Hikers in can stay in one of three cabins in the crater itself, and there are camping grounds in the park.
In clear weather, visitors can view five other Hawaiian islands from the top of the mountain. Each day, visitors climb to the summit to watch the spectacular sunrise and sunset. There are unusually clear views of the night sky, and Haleakala is very popular for amateur astronomy.