Native Hawaiian tradition gives the origin of the island's name in the legend of Hawai'iloa, the navigator and fisherman credited with discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. According to this account, Hawai'iloa named the island after his son, who was in turn named for the demigod Māui.

Each of the Hawaiian islands has a nickname. Maui is known as the "Valley Isle" because the island's interior sits less than 200 feet above sea level, while each side is flanked by mountains. This unique geography is the result of two shield volcanoes that overlapped, forming an isthmus between them.

With 120 miles of coastline, Maui boasts over 30 miles of beautiful beaches. On these world famous shores you'll find white, black, and red sand beaches, renowned surfing and windsurfing spots as well as some of the best beaches in the world to simply swim, snorkel and sunbathe. Many are easily accessible beach parks with lifeguards, picnic facilities and restrooms. Others are undeveloped, "secret spots" found off the beaten path.

Maui's largest and youngest volcano, Haleakalā ("house of the sun") rises more than 10,000 feet (3,000 m) above sea level and measures 5 miles (8.0 km) from seafloor to summit.

In Hawaiian folklore, the depression at the summit of Haleakalā was home to the grandmother of the demigod Māui, who helped him capture the sun and force it to slow its journey across the sky in order to lengthen the day.

Haleakala is considered to be "dormant," not extinct, which means it could erupt again at some point in the future. The last confirmed eruption was sometime before or during the 1700s.

The Outdoor Circle, an environmental group, led the campaign to ban billboards in Hawaii in the 1920s.

Maui has two seasons--winter and summer--and the temperature varies by only a few degrees between the two.

Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km²) and is the 17th largest island in the United States.

The stretch of Hawaii Routes 36 and 360 that connect Kahului to the town of Hana in east Maui is colloquially referred to as The Road to Hana. Although Hana is only about 52 miles (84 km) from Kahului, an uninterrupted drive takes about 2.5 hours because the highway is very curvy, narrow, and passes over 59 bridges, 46 of which are only one lane wide.