Alieiki Lake

Alieiki Lake is an ephemeral lake located in the southern part of the island of Niʻihau. It appears on Hawaiian place-name records, early geological bulletins, and topographic maps of Niʻihau compiled in the early to mid-20th century.
During the rainy season, low-lying areas fill with fresh water and the lake swells to approximately 35 acres in area. It is located directly south of Hālaliʻi Lake, the largest natural lake in the Hawaiian Islands. In dry periods on the arid island, Alieiki becomes a flat reddish dry lakebed.
The Makaloa sedge grows along the lake’s margins and was traditionally used by Native Hawaiians to weave Makaloa mats. The wetlands surrounding Alieiki provide habitat for several native Hawaiian waterbirds, including the ʻalae keʻokeʻo, aeʻo, and koloa maoli.
The lake is also part of traditional mullet aquaculture practices historically carried out on Niʻihau. Young fish enter through lava tubes or are transported in barrels during the rainy season. As water levels recede in the summer, adult mullet are harvested and often sold on Kauaʻi and Oʻahu.