Pēpēʻōpae is located near the summit of Kamakou peak in eastern Molokaʻi at an elevation of about at . Poorly draining acidic soil leaches of nutrients, rainfall that exceeds , cooler temperatures and high winds have resulted in a bog where the canopy has been reduced to plants that are only inches above the ground. Typical forest canopy trees such as ʻōhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) and ʻōlapa (Cheirodendron trigynum) can be found as groundcover, crawling along the surface.