kipuka

[ kee-poo-kah ]

noun

1. (in Hawaii) a tract of land surrounded by recent lava flows.

Word History and Origins

Origin of kipuka¹

From the Hawaiian word kīpuka

Example Sentences

Similar work happens Wednesdays and Thursdays at Kipuka Olowalu, south of Lahaina.

From Los Angeles Times

Carrie Fischer, 59, says she and her husband Harald are happy to stay in their largely unscathed home in the new kipuka and she isn’t worried about another eruption.

From Reuters

Clinton and his neighbors now occupy what Hawaiians call a “kipuka,” an area of land surrounded by a now-hardened lava flow.

From Reuters

When goslings are old enough to fly, the Hakalau and country club geese leave their respective home bases and meet up at Kipuka Ainahou off Saddle Road.

From Washington Times

If I continued following this road the next day, I thought, I would reach El Malpais’s largest kipuka, an islandlike ecosystem surrounded but untouched by the lava flows — called Hole-in-the-Wall.

From New York Times