Mauna Kea

American  

[mou-nuh key-uh, maw-nuh kee-uh] / ˈmaʊ nə ˈkeɪ ə, ˈmɔ nə ˈki ə /

noun

1. a dormant volcano on the Island of Hawaii: one of the five shield volcanoes that form the island, and the highest point in the state of Hawaii. 13,803 feet (4,207 meters).

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Mauna Kea British  

/ ˈmaʊnɑː ˈkeɪɑː /

noun

1. an extinct volcano in Hawaii, on N central Hawaii island: the highest island mountain in the world. Height: 4206 m (13 799 ft)

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Etymology

Origin of Mauna Kea

First recorded in 1880–85; from Hawaiian, literally “White Mountain”

Example Sentences

Caltech has retired a telescope atop the summit of Hawaii’s Mauna Kea following a cultural sea change in how people view land development on revered landmarks.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 9, 2024

Kanaka elders have insisted that no more telescopes be built on Mauna Kea, which Native Hawaiians consider to be ancestral and sacred.

From Salon • Aug. 21, 2024

The two projects are the Giant Magellan Telescope at Las Campanas in Chile and the Thirty Meter Telescope, possibly destined for Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii, also known as the Big Island.

From New York Times • Mar. 8, 2024

A camera at the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii has captured an object as it burned up on re-entering Earth's atmosphere on 8 February.

From BBC • Feb. 10, 2024

But Poliahu followed, met the chief secretly and took him up to Mauna Kea again, covering the mountain with snow so that Waka could not go to find them.

From Legends of Gods and Ghosts (Hawaiian Mythology) Collected and Translated from the Hawaiian by Westervelt, W. D. (William Drake)