Kalaupapa, Former leprosy settlement on Molokai Island, United States.
Kalaupapa is a former leprosy settlement on the peninsula at the northern edge of Molokaʻi Island in Hawaii, United States. The peninsula stretches into the ocean and is separated from the rest of the island by steep cliffs rising about 2,000 feet (600 meters).
The Hawaii Board of Health began forcibly relocating people with leprosy to this remote peninsula in 1866. The quarantine policy lasted over a century and affected thousands of patients, until the last compulsory isolation laws were lifted in the 1960s.
The settlement is managed by a small group of residents who were once patients here and chose to remain. Visitors may enter only with permission and must respect the privacy of the remaining community.
Access requires advance permission from the authorities and a guided tour, as the area remains protected. The only land route is a steep trail with 26 switchbacks or a small airstrip with limited connections.
Some of the original hospital buildings and residences still stand today and show traces of the former medical infrastructure. The area was designated a National Historical Park in the 1980s to preserve the story of its inhabitants.
Location: Kalawao County
Inception: 1866
GPS coordinates: 21.15250,-156.92389
Latest update: December 5, 2025 16:34
Cliffs rank among Earth's most striking geological formations, ranging from coastal precipices to inland mountain faces. Along oceans, they shape coastlines for thousands of miles, while in mountain regions they form vertical walls that draw climbers from around the world. This collection documents significant cliffs across six continents, including Ireland's 214-meter (702-foot) Cliffs of Moher, England's white chalk cliffs at Dover, and Norway's Preikestolen, which rises 604 meters (1,982 feet) above Lysefjord. Among the locations are some of Earth's highest vertical walls. Hawaii's Kalaupapa Cliffs on Molokai reach 1,010 meters (3,315 feet), while Pakistan's Trango Towers rise above 6,000 meters (19,685 feet) with nearly vertical rock faces. Coastal formations like Normandy's Étretat cliffs, Ireland's Slieve League, and Australia's Bunda Cliffs along the Nullarbor Plain demonstrate the power of marine erosion. Inland, formations such as California's El Capitan, China's Zhangjiajie National Forest Park towers, and South Africa's Table Mountain create distinctive landscape features shaped by different geological processes over millions of years.
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