Hawaii The Main Islands

Hawaii (or Hawaii’s Big Island ), the youngest and largest of the Hawaiian islands, is home to three active volcanoes: Kilauea, Mauna Loa, and Hualalai. This means that Hawaii’s Big Island is not only big, but that it’s growing due to lava buildup. Kilauea has been erupting almost continuously since 1823, and visitors to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park can observe the world’s most active volcano’s lava flows up close. Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano that last erupted 45,000 years ago, is the highest point in the state at an altitude of 13,796 ft. (4208m) above sea level. It is also the tallest sea mountain on Earth. The high cliffs along the northern and southeastern coasts of the Big Island create dramatic waterfalls. Additionally, the island’s varied terrain and tradewinds make for a multifarious climate: the Big Island houses 11 of the world’s 13 climate zones.

Maui is a “volcanic doublet,” formed by two separate volcanoes that overlapped. The isthmus between them is the reason why Maui is known as “The Valley Isle.” The East Maui volcano, known as Haleakala, is considered dormant; its last eruption was in 1790. The remains of the West Maui volcano, eroded by rainfall and wind, are known as the West Maui Mountains. The fertile expanse between the two volcanoes is conducive to sugarcane cultivation, while much of the rest of the island is covered by rainforest. Maui is one of the four main Hawaiian islands that formed the much larger prehistoric island, Maui Nui (“great Maui”), which submerged about 200,000 years ago.

Lava Me Tender. When the volcanic substance made of liquid and solid rock remains below ground, it is known as magma. Once magma is exposed to the air, either through a volcanic eruption or a fissure in the earth, it becomes lava. The behavior of lava depends on its chemical composition. Low silica lava, which is common in Hawaii, flows and can travel for great distances. High silica lava, also called pyroclastics, explodes in ash or cinders when it leaves a volcano. In addition to having varying silica levels, Hawaiian lava generally comes in three forms:
Pahoehoe: Nearly all lava in Hawaii erupts as pahoehoe. Fast-flowing, it hardens into a smooth, rope-like solid because the outermost lava of a lava channel cools before the lava inside. Such a delay in solidification produces lava tubes; lava can flow within these tubes for long distances.
Pillow Lava: A type of pahoehoe lava, pillow lava forms when lava flows into the ocean. When the lava makes contact with water, a solid crust forms immediately. As more lava flows beneath the crust, the crust cracks and oozes “pillows,” or blobs, of lava.
Aa: Some attribute the name of this form of lava to an old tale about Captain Cook walking barefoot across the lava, screaming, “Ah! Ah!” In actuality, the term means “to glow” in Hawaiian. Slow-moving aa lava is characterized by its rough and jagged appearance—its the reason why sturdy shoes are needed in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Its flows are thicker than those of the other forms of lava and have been known to pile up (sometimes to heights of over 100 ft.). Pahoehoe can become aa if it experiences an increase in viscosity—that is, if it cools or loses gas.

Molokai, another remnant of the prehistoric Maui Nui, has three distinct geographic regions: the mountainous east, the arid west, and the verdant central plain. The island also contains some of the world’s tallest sea cliffs, which soar up to 3000 ft. above the ocean on Molokai’s north shore.

Castle & Cooke Resorts owns 98% of Lanai. This monopoly of the island is a result of a history of commercial pineapple production—Castle & Cooke Resorts bought the aptly nicknamed “the Pineapple Island” from the Dole Food Company in 1985. Lanai is the only Hawaiian island from which five of the other main islands are visible. It was also once a part of Maui Nui as was the large but uninhabited island of Kahoolawe.

Fertile grounds are also found on Oahu, in the central valley between the Koolau Mountain Range and the Waianae Range. These ranges, Koolau in the east and Waianae in the west, run almost parallel to each other and are the result of two separate shield volcanoes. There are several smaller post-shield volcanic outcroppings scattered throughout the island, all of which are extinct. The most famous of these former craters is Diamond Head, an extinct volcanic crater on the southeastern coast. At 760 ft. in height and 3520 ft. in diameter, it’s impressive, but it hasn’t erupted in 150,000 years.

Kauai is home to the rainiest spot on earth, Mount Waialeale, which averages 460 in. (1143cm) of rain per year. Such heavy rainfall has succeeded in eroding parts of the mountains of Kauai, generating a number of impressive canyons. The most impressive of these is the 10 mi. long and 3500 ft. deep Waimea Canyon, known as the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific.” The northernmost and geologically oldest of the Hawaiian islands, Kauai is often called “The Garden Island,” a nod to its lush natural beauty.