Waimea Canyon, also known as the
Grand Canyon of the Pacific, is a large
canyon, approximately ten miles (16 km) long and up to 3,000 feet (900 m) deep, located on the western side of
Kauai in the
Hawaiian Islands of the United States. Waimea is
Hawaiian for "reddish water", a reference to the erosion of the canyon's red soil. The canyon was formed by a deep incision of the
Waimea River arising from the extreme rainfall on the island's central peak,
Mount Waialeale, among the wettest places on earth.