The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at 727 square miles (1883 km²). Maui is part of the State of Hawai`i and is the largest island in Maui County; the other islands comprising the county being Lāna`i, Kaho`olawe, and Moloka`i. The island has a resident population of 139,884 in 2006 which is ranked third within the state behind the islands of Oahu and Hawaii.

Maui is a leading whale-watching center in the Hawaiian Islands due to the fact that many Humpback whales winter in the sheltered `Au`au Channel between the islands of Maui county. The whales migrate approximately 3,500 miles (5,600 km) from Alaskan waters each autumn and spend the northern hemisphere winter months mating and birthing in the warm waters off Maui. The whales are typically sighted in pods: small groups of several adults and one or more calves. Humpbacks are an endangered species protected by U.S. federal and Hawai`i state law. There are estimated to be about 3,000 humpbacks in the North Pacific.
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