Molokai, island, in Kalawao County, administered by Maui County, central Hawaii, between Oahu and Maui islands, known as the Friendly Island. On the southern coast of Molokai is the port of Kaunakakai. The island rises to 1,512 m (4,961 ft) in the east at Kamakou Peak. Pineapples, coffee, and cattle are raised. In 1873 Father Damien, the Belgian Roman Catholic missionary, began his work in the leper colony of Kalawao on the Kalaupapa Peninsula of northern Molokai. Area, 670 sq km (260 sq mi); population (2000) 7,257.