|
Arabic
Bengali
Chinese
English
French
German
Hebrew
Hindi
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Malay
Polish
Portuguese
Spanish
Turkish
Ukrainian
Vietnamese|
WONDERS OF NATURE
Islands of Hawaii and Maui. Nature miracle
More than half of the entire territory of the Hawaiian archipelago falls on its largest island - Hawaii. It is often called the "Island of Volcanoes", and there is every reason for this, since Hawaii gave rise to as many as five fire-breathing mountains that merged into a single massif. His second nickname - "Orchid Island" - Hawaii received for the richness and exotic appearance of tropical vegetation.
And, finally, one more, also well-deserved, name of this fertile piece of land in the vast expanses of the Pacific Ocean - "Island of Dreams". Indeed, few corners of our planet will give the traveler such a variety of amazing wonders of animate and inanimate nature. Scuba divers will find here an amazing wealth of underwater coral thickets with their unique world of fish, algae and shellfish. Surfers will enjoy riding some of the most stunning waves the ocean has to offer. And near the shore, the crest of the breaking wave is thrown back so that a real bluish-green tunnel is formed - the famous "Banzai pipe" - the unique miracle of Hawaii and the dream of a surfer. Beaches on the island of Hawaii are unusual - they are composed of black sand formed from basalt lavas ground by the surf. Such beaches are especially hot under the hot sun, giving a lot of pleasure to bathers. Wildlife lovers get even more enjoyment on the island. The moist ocean winds blowing here - the trade winds - bring abundant rainfall to the eastern slopes of the island, and in combination with the tropical climate create fertile conditions for the flora. The coast of the island is covered with amazingly beautiful forests. The main thing in them is tree ferns, the most characteristic tree of the archipelago. One of the corners of Hawaii National Park is called "Fern Jungle". These ancient plants are found in abundance in the forest belt of the volcanic mountains, sometimes reaching a height of fifteen meters. Their thick trunks, black and soft as a sponge, rise up in mighty columns, only at the top throwing out a whole bunch of large feathery leaves to the sides. Among the ferns, there are often narrow and tall green candles of araucaria - the only coniferous tree on the island. Not uncommon here is the valuable sandalwood, ruthlessly cut down in the past because of the fragrant wood that was in high demand. And in some valleys you can see the original trees, which received humorous names from tourists: "Pink Splendor" and "Golden Splendor". Their trunks are thin, and the branches, studded with flowers, slop down and resemble flower garlands with which the Hawaiians like to decorate themselves during the holidays. All trees are densely braided with vines and are full of many orchids and other exotic flowers. Small varieties of ferns often grow on their branches, creating with their lush green clumps the impression of large bird nests. Delicate malachite carved leaves that form these "nests" are decorated with a network of purple veins of marvelous beauty. The ground is almost invisible: it is covered with a continuous carpet of grass and fluffy moss. The abundance of moisture, by the way, favors not only the development of flora. The island of Hawaii is also famous for its many waterfalls that break down from the slopes of volcanoes right into the sea and look like sparkling silver ribbons from the deck of the ship, enlivening the plain green cover of the slopes. The highest of them - Akaka Falls - falls from a height of one hundred and forty meters! In the forests of the Hawaiian Islands, you can walk without fear, as they do not contain either large or small predators. There are also no snakes, no leeches, no mosquitoes and mosquitoes, so poisoning the life of travelers in tropical areas. The fauna of the archipelago is generally not rich in species. But most of the local inhabitants are found only on these islands. Basically, these are rare birds, such as the Hawaiian goose, miraculously saved from complete extermination, or the tiny Hawaiian flower girl, fluttering over orchids, like Latin American hummingbirds, and deftly extracting nectar from flowers with its thin curved beak. However, the main thing for which tourists come to Hawaii not only from Honolulu, the capital of the archipelago located on the island of Oahu, but also from Australia, Japan and North America, is its fire-breathing mountains, stunning, incredible, unlike volcanoes in other parts of the world. Of the five volcanoes of the island, two - Mauna Kea and Kohala - have long calmed down and do not show their once violent temper in any way. Mauna Kea, the highest mountain in Oceania, reaches a height of four thousand two hundred meters above sea level. Its gently sloping peak is almost always crowned with a snow cap, for which the mountain got its name. (Mauna Kea is Polynesian for "White Mountain".) Another island volcano, Hualalai, was also considered extinct, but in 1801 it suddenly came to life for a short time, as if warning that it was too early to write it off, after which it calmed down again and has been sleeping for two centuries now. But the two remaining "windows into the bowels" - the volcanoes Mauna Loa and Kilauea - more than compensate for the drowsiness and sluggish nature of their counterparts. You will not find a more active volcanic couple anywhere else on the globe. Mauna Loa erupts on average once every three and a half years, and Kilauea erupts even more often. Over the past ten years, fifty of its eruptions have occurred, and once it raged without ceasing for two and a half years. Mauna Loa is only forty meters lower than Mauna Kea, but far exceeds its neighbor in volume. No wonder its name is translated as "Great Mountain". The lava of Hawaiian volcanoes is very liquid and easily spreads to the sides, therefore, with its silhouette, Mauna Loa does not resemble a high pointed cone, like Fujiyama or Etna, but rather a gigantic bread loaf. The base of this gently sloping dome at sea level reaches a hundred kilometers in diameter, and at the bottom of the ocean, at a depth of more than six kilometers, its diameter is four hundred kilometers! Moved to Europe, Mauna Loa would take over all of Switzerland. Strictly speaking, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea are the highest mountains in the world, since their height, counting from the seabed, exceeds ten kilometers. And the lava that makes up the gigantic colossus of the island of Hawaii would be enough to cover the whole of Canada or China with a layer five meters thick. The Hawaiian archipelago stretches for three thousand kilometers from the southeast to the northwest in the North Pacific Ocean. Here, in the center of the Pacific lithospheric plate, is the so-called hot spot, above which magma, penetrating from the upper mantle, erects a volcanic island. The plate itself is moving northwest at a rate of fifteen centimeters a year, while the "hot spot" remains in place. Therefore, the formed volcanic piece of land soon turns out to be away from it, and then the melt emerging from the depths begins to form a new island next to it. Thus, in ten million years, a grandiose volcanic ridge was formed, in which the most ancient, long-extinct volcanoes "moved away" from the "hot spot" for thousands of kilometers, and the youngest island - Hawaii - continues to grow to this day. And its main builder is Mauna Loa. At the top of this volcano, in a huge crater with an area of ten square kilometers and a depth of two hundred meters, a lava lake forms during eruptions, the level of which gradually rises. Finally, the lava reaches the edges of the crater and flows down like a fiery river. Liquid molten rock flows along the slopes at high speed, sometimes up to fifty kilometers per hour, burning everything in its path and forming amazing fiery waterfalls on steep ledges, or, more precisely, "lavopads". Often the lava flow reaches the ocean shore, and then the coast is enveloped in thick clouds of steam, and the island grows a little due to the formed lava terrace. So, during the eruption of Mauna Loa in 1980, the area of the island of Hawaii increased by two square kilometers. The height of Kilauea is only one thousand two hundred meters. It is located on the eastern slope of Mauna Loa and was previously considered to be its side crater. Then it turned out that Kilauea has its own system of channels supplying lava, and the composition of this lava is different from the erupted Mauna Loa. For decades, a lake of liquid lava boiled in the main crater of Kilauea, bearing the beautiful Polynesian name Halemaumau, that is, "House of Fire". Sometimes only thirty meters separated the surface of the melt from the edge of the crater. But in 1924, the level of the fiery lake suddenly dropped to a depth of two hundred meters. And its surface was covered with a crust of solidified lava six meters thick, on which one could walk, as if on ice. Now such walks are the main goal of everyone arriving in Hawaii. However, they are possible only in between eruptions and only along specially laid paths, otherwise tourists are in danger of returning with burned-out soles (or even not returning at all). Several times a year, a dull noise is heard in the depths of Kilauea, after which kilometer-long cracks open in the lava crust of the crater lake, snaked in fiery zigzags, like lightning running through the earth. The bowl of the crater is filled with volcanic melt, and fantastic fiery fountains of liquid lava rise above the surface of this flaming lake, sometimes up to three hundred meters high. Characteristic of this type of volcanism (volcanologists call it "Hawaiian") was the picture observed during the eruption in 1959 of the side crater of the volcano, called Kilauea-Iki ("Small Kilauea"). On November 14, at twenty o'clock, the pressure of compressed gases caused the first explosion, which destroyed the lava crust in the crater. The crest of the crater, which had not shown activity for ninety years, also split in ten places at once. Fountains of liquid lava spouted from the cracks and holes that had formed in the crater. When the excess pressure of the gases subsided, all but two of the holes and cracks closed. From the remaining "windows" lava gushed forth, rising to a height of sixty meters. Then another vent closed. But from the latter the fountain was now spouting two hundred meters upwards. By the end of the week, the height of the fountain reached four hundred meters, after which the ejection of lava stopped. Twelve days after the first active phase, the next eruption of Kilauea-Iki occurred. This time the fountain rose to a height of more than three hundred meters. In the crater itself, a lava lake formed a hundred and thirty meters deep. On November 29, a new rumbling column of flame and liquid lava shot up six hundred meters. It was the tallest fountain that had been observed in the entire century-long history of the study of Hawaiian volcanoes. This mighty surge marked the end of the Kilauea-Iki eruption. The liquid lava of the lake was drawn into the bowels of the fiery whirlpool, and part of it froze, again forming a crust at the bottom of the crater. Then a new eruption began along the fissure zone in the southeast of the island, accompanied by the outpouring of lava and the formation of lava flows on the slopes of Kilauea. Rushing down, they burned sugarcane plantations on the coast, papaya and orange groves, orchid plantations. Fire rivers were fought by bulldozers erecting earthen ramparts in their path and diverting the flow away from cultivated lands. A chain of small craters stretched along the fissure zone, which spewed steam, gases, and lava into the air above the vents. Drops of lava, frozen in the air, fell to the ground in the form of long needles, the so-called hair of Pele, named after the Polynesian god of fire. It is clear that such a spectacle cannot leave anyone indifferent. And, what is very important, you can observe lava fountains and streams of fiery rivers on Kilauea, firstly, quite regularly, and secondly, in a relatively safe environment. A traveler who has landed on the island of Hawaii can, if desired, climb to the Kilauea crater even by bus, since an asphalt road has been laid here. But it is more interesting to climb to the volcano on foot along the path laid through forests of sandalwood and tree ferns. In just a few hours, you can reach the Kilauea-Iki ridge. The picture that opens up is breathtaking. In the distance, steam is smoking over the main Halemaumau crater, and right under your feet is the dark gray expanse of the crater lake, cut by scarlet cracks and shrouded in sulfuric fumes. The greatness and formidable power that everything around breathes are beyond description. This sight is especially impressive at night. Those travelers who are interested not only in geology should climb the slope of Mauna Loa. In the mountain forests there are many unique birds, and, of course, the Hawaiian goose mentioned above, which by the middle of the 1960th century was almost completely exterminated on most of the islands of the archipelago. However, zoologists were able to organize the breeding of rare birds in zoos, and then repopulate the slopes of Mauna Loa with them in the XNUMXs. There are also rare Hawaiian mallard ducks, Hawaiian crows and the only bird of prey on the islands - the Hawaiian buzzard. Occasionally, you can also see a tiny and very beautiful honey sucker or Hawaiian flower girls flickering over the meadow, like butterflies. All of them are not found anywhere else, except for the Hawaiian archipelago. Unfortunately, goats and pigs brought to Hawaii and run wild here caused great damage to the island bird fauna. Some species of birds disappeared completely, and only the creation of the National Park made it possible for the rest to survive. Nevertheless, wildlife lovers will find a lot of interesting things in the green thickets that cover the lower part of the giant volcanic massif. Yes, and on the coast you can meet unique animals, such as the Hawaiian monk seal. So tourists who have arrived on the island have something to see and marvel at. However, the enchanting pictures of a green tropical paradise and the luxury of ocean beaches cannot, of course, overshadow the impression of the grandiose spectacle of cracks glowing with red lightning, fiery lava falls and fountains of liquid lava soaring to the height of the Ostankino TV tower. Apparently, this is the only place on Earth where you can look so close and so directly into the bowels of our planet and hear their menacing breath. And very close to the island of Hawaii, travelers will find another natural pearl of the volcanic archipelago - the amazing, legendary island of Maui.
Wherever you swim to this island: from the west, from the island of Molokai, from the east, from the shores of the island of Hawaii, or from the north, from the side of the open ocean - each time it is met from afar by the mighty silhouette of a majestic mountain structure rising three kilometers above the island - a crater Haleakala. Climbing it is not easy - the slopes of the volcano are covered with dense thickets of tropical vegetation and placers of black basalt blocks, so "the climb will take at least two days. But even those who prefer modern comfort and climb to the top by car along a winding twenty-kilometer road will remember the moment for a long time when an endless bowl of one of the largest volcanic craters in the world suddenly opens under his feet. Halekaala Crater was discovered in 1778 by the great navigator Cook. He mapped the volcano under its Polynesian name, which means "House of the Sun." The inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands tell a legend according to which the god Maui once managed to catch the Sun here, after whom the island is named. This happened, as the legend says, due to the fact that our daylight was in a hurry. It ran too fast across the sky, and the day shortened so much that one day the goddess Hinu, mother of Maui, did not even have time to dry the coverlet she woven that morning. Angry at the Sun, she ordered her son to catch him and put an end to the inappropriate haste of the heavenly body. Maui wove a rope from the fibers of a coconut tree and hid on top of a volcano. And as soon as the first rays of the Sun appeared from behind the rocks, he tied them with a rope and caught the luminary. The captive Sun was forced to promise never to break the usual pace of movement again, and since then the day in the Hawaiian Islands has not been shortened again. True, the inhabitants of the island of Maui, knowing the inconstancy of the gods, annually made sacrifices to them, throwing delicious food and coconuts into the crater. It was believed that those who had tasted the gifts of Maui and Hina would strictly follow the frivolous luminary. Unlike its blazing neighbors, the Mauna Loa and Kilauea volcanoes on the neighboring island of Hawaii, Haleakala is now considered extinct, although it may have just fallen asleep for a while. The volcano last erupted in 1790. In the two centuries that have passed since then, at the bottom of a giant crater, the area of \uXNUMXb\uXNUMXbwhich reaches fifty square kilometers, forests have grown in some places, and streams have made their way along the slopes, forming a small lake below. Steep basalt cliffs rise almost a kilometer above the bottom of the volcanic depression, like fortress walls. In the northern part of the crater, in the green meadows, the locals graze their cattle, and in the southwest of it there are sandy deserts, the color of which varies from light beige to dark brown and even crimson red. Among this ominous landscape, here and there, multi-colored cones of secondary volcanoes rise two or three hundred meters above the crimson plain, creating a kind of Martian landscape. The crater itself is not round, but stretches for twelve kilometers from west to east; its width from north to south is four kilometers. Once the volcano was three hundred meters higher, but its top was demolished during the last eruption. The slopes of Haleakala, unlike most volcanic craters, do not look perfectly correct. They are partially destroyed and dissected by deep gorges. In the east and in the north, in the edge of the crater, two huge breaches, the "gates" of Kaupo and Kulau gape. Through these grandiose corridors, ocean winds rush into the volcanic cavity, bringing clouds and rains. By the way, thanks to this structure of the crater, one can observe a curious optical phenomenon described earlier in the German Harz mountains - the so-called Brocken ghost. The shadow of a man standing on the edge of the summit is projected in an enlarged view onto the gray veil of clouds that fill the crater at his feet, giving the impression that some kind of giant is moving there. At one time in the Harz, such "ghosts" that appeared near Mount Brocken caused superstitious fear among the locals, who believed that witches from all over the area were gathering on the mountain for their sabbat. In 1960, Haleakala was declared a National Park, and now all the picturesque and unusual corners of the gigantic crater are connected by a network of special paths along which tourists can reach the most remote places of this amazing closed world and enjoy the spectacle of its many natural wonders. The traveler will see in a giant volcanic bowl frozen lava rivers and bluish-purple secondary volcanoes swollen with conical stone wigwams. He will be able to admire the iridescent red-brown-black gamut of shades interspersed with volcanic glass-obsidian in dark high cliffs made of gray layered ash. And most importantly - to discover an amazing plant that is found only in the Haleakala crater and bears the poetic name "silver blade". This rare botanical miracle resembles a gray-haired silver porcupine or some kind of ball bristling with sharp long feathers, from the middle of which rises a thick fleshy stem-receptacle, covered once in the life of the plant with a bouquet of purple flowers. The "Silver Blade" lives only about twenty years, reaching a height of three meters during this time. Then it blooms for a while, striking the audience with its size, and colors, and aromas. Then the plant dies, and its narrow, silver-colored saber-shaped leaves, for which it got its name, wither and fall off. The wild beauty of landscapes, opening from the ridge of Haleakala, has inspired artists and writers more than once. They devoted a lot of works to the volcano. Among those who visited this miracle of nature in the distant Pacific archipelago were such wonderful word artists as Mark Twain and Jack London. Mark Twain, who visited Maui in 1866, described his ascent of the volcano in a book of memoirs of the wanderings of his youth. A cheerful company of young, cheerful adventurers climbed the slopes of Haleakala for two days to reach the summit. (Then, after all, there was not only no road up, but even a tolerable path, not to mention the fact that the first map of the volcano was compiled three years after their visit.) After spending the night by the fire (the temperature drops by fifteen degrees when climbing the volcano), the frozen travelers finally got out to the edge of the crater and stood for a long time, shocked by the view that opened up. Then young enthusiasm surged through their veins, and in order to keep warm, they began to roll up to the cliff and throw down hefty basalt blocks the size of a barrel of whiskey. Having warmed up in this way and showing the volcano their prowess, Mark Twain and his companions set off on the return journey. Now tourists climb to the top along a winding path that passes through green meadows and eucalyptus groves. As a rule, they are not satisfied with the spectacle from the Kalahaku observation platform located above, but descend, wanting to leave their marks both on the forest paths near the crater lake and on the volcanic sand of the desert southern regions of the crater. In addition, of course, it is impossible to leave Haleakal without seeing the legendary "silver blade" with your own eyes. Many travelers stay overnight in the crater to admire the most impressive sight that Haleakala can give its guests - the sunrise over the rim of the crater, framed by whimsically swirling clouds and black silhouettes of lava remnants on the ridge. A rare combination of severity and beauty of the volcanic landscape of Haleakala leaves no one indifferent. But the magical charm of the "House of the Sun" cannot be expressed in words - you need to experience it yourself. At one time, this was accurately noted by Jack London, who wrote after returning from the island of Maui: "Haleakala carries a special message to the soul of man, a message of such beauty and miraculous power that it is impossible to receive it second hand." Author: B.Wagner
▪ Pyrenees
Artificial leather for touch emulation
15.04.2024 Petgugu Global cat litter
15.04.2024 The attractiveness of caring men
14.04.2024
▪ 80-channel optical link switch ▪ From the accelerator to the kitchen ▪ External hard drives for social media users ▪ Economic travel by electric car
▪ section of the site Metal detectors. Article selection ▪ article Adhesive tape. History of invention and production ▪ article Who made the first balloon flight? Detailed answer ▪ article Pearl and mother-of-pearl masses. Simple recipes and tips ▪ article Capricious coin. Focus Secret
Home page | Library | Articles | Website map | Site Reviews
www.diagram.com.ua |
We recommend interesting articles Section 
See other articles Section 
Latest news of science and technology, new electronics:
All languages of this page