Sunrise from Haleakala Visitor Center

There is a legend that tells how Maui a Polynesian demigod snared the sun because it was moving too quickly across the sky for fruits to ripen and for the kapa (a cloth made by women) to dry. Maui climbed Haleakala, lassoed the sun's rays at dawn as they struck the mountaintop and held them fast with his strong ropes. When the sun promised to move more slowly across the sky, Maui released it, but left the ropes attached to the sun's rays to remind the sun of its promise. In the evening as the sun sets, the ropes can be seen stretching from the land to the sky.