Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano, but one of five volcanic peaks that together form the Island of Hawaii. In Hawaiian, mauna kea means "white mountain", a reference to the fact that it is regularly snow or frost capped during the northern hemisphere winter. Its highest point, Pu'u Wēkiu (one of numerous cinder cones on the summit), is the highest point in the state of Hawaii at 13,796 feet (4,205 meters).
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