Tag: Waimea
Waimea is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaiʻi County, Hawaiʻi, United States. The population was 7,028 at the 2000 census. Since each U.S. state cannot have more than one post office of the same name and there are many ‘Waimeas’ on the islands of Hawaiʻi, the official US Post Office name for Waimea is Kamuela.
Waimea is the largest town in the interior of the Big Island, and is the center for ranching activities and paniolo culture. The Parker Ranch in and around Waimea is the largest privately owned cattle ranch in the US, and the annual Fourth of July rodeo is a major event.
Waimea is also home to the headquarters of two astronomical observatories located on Mauna Kea, the W. M. Keck Observatory and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope.
It is believed that the watershed area of the Kohala mountains once supported several thousand native Hawaiians, who practiced subsistence agriculture, made kapa, and thatched living structures. As the Europeans arrived in the area, most of the…
