Waimea River (Kauai)
The Waimea River is a river on the island of Kauai in the U.S. state of Hawaii. At 19.7 miles in length, it is one of the longest rivers in the Hawaiian Islands and is the longest navigable river in the entire state.
It rises in a wet plateau of the island's central highlands, in the Alaka'i Swamp, the largest high-elevation swamp in the world. It flows south, passing through the spectactular 3,000-foot deep (900 m) Waimea Canyon, known as the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific."
The valleys of the Waimea River and its tributary, the Makaweli River, were once heavily populated. It enters the Pacific Ocean at Waimea, near the 1778 landing place of Captain Cook on Kauai.
Riverboat tours departing Waimea near the mouth of the river take tourists to a large grotto filled with wild ferns. The grotto lost most of its ferns during Hurricane Iniki, but they are returning quickly thanks to the moist climate.
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