SOME NATURE FACTS ABOUT THE BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII

What are native plants?

Native plants are those that arrived in Hawai’i through natural processes; ocean waves and currents, swept through the atmosphere by the wind, and hitch-hiking on the outside or inside of birds. After arriving in Hawai’i, the plants adapted to the specific growing conditions where they landed. Native plants are either endemic or indigenous to Hawai`i.


What are endemic plants?

Endemic plants adapted such distinctive characteristics that they became identified as new plants. These only are found in Hawai`i. They are endemic to Hawai`i. The ‘ohia lehua, for example is endemic. Hawai`i has over 1,000 plants that are endemic.


What are indigenous plants?

Other native plants thrived without changing. These grow in Hawai`i and in other places. They are indigenous. Pohinahina or beach vitex is indigenous. Pohinahina is naturally found in Hawai`i as well as on many other Pacific islands.


What are endangered plants?

An endangered plant is any one in danger of extinction in its natural range. More than a quarter of our nation's endangered plant species are native to Hawai`i. Since February 1992, 63 Hawaiian plants were added to the endangered species list.


Kona

The Hawaiian Islands form the most isolated group of islands on Earth. The nearest land to Hawaii, North America, is more than 2,000 miles (3218 km) away. Japan is 3,850 miles (6200 km) away to the West. They sit in the open ocean of the North Pacific. The trade winds blow strong across the empty ocean most of the year, but both North and South Kona lie in the "wind shadow" of the giant twin mountains of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa (as well as the bulk of Hualalai right behind Kailua). The weather in Kona for nearly the whole year consists of the sun baking vapor from the sea, the resulting clouds collecting in the wind shadow, then cooling in the mountains, and rain falling in the afternoons. Unlike the rest of the state of Hawaii, in Kona summer is the rainier season. The unique combination of Tropical temperatures and almost daily morning sun and afternoon cloud cover is what gives Kona Coffee its world renowned flavor.

Historically, Kona was the home of Kamehameha the Great. It was from Kona that Kamehameha conquered the other islands and fused Hawaii into one kingdom. Kona was the setting for the first Christian services held in Hawaii, the death of Captain James Cook, and the destruction of the kapu system and the overturning of Hawaiian religion by Kamehameha II in 1819.

During the period when the sugar plantation owners controlled Hawaii, Kona was overshadowed by Hilo, on the windward side of Hawaii. After the "revolution" of 1954, when the multi-racial children of the plantation workers threw out the old Republican (and haole) government an installed as Democrats, one party rule of Hawaii lasting decades. Bloc voting in Hilo and the sugar communities along the Hamakua coast, enforced by the ILWU, enabled Hilo to concentrate power and tax revenues within its city limits.

Today, Kona and Kohala are the centers of tourism and growth on the island of Hawaii.


Lava

There are basic types of basaltic lava, 'a'a and pahoehoe. 'A'a flows are generally thicker, both in terms of the height of the flow, and the viscosity, but move faster. They are produced by high effusion eruptions. Pahoehoe flows are thinner (in both senses) and generally move slowly.

'A'a and Pahoehoe flows can be the same length and volume, but of course it will take a pahoehoe flow longer to reach the same length. Pahoehoe flows are characterized by smooth glassy surfaces which remain intact while the lava flows beneath the cooled skin. 'A'a flows have jumbled rough surfaces. The surfaces get constantly torn apart while the flow rapidly flows along and pretty soon it has cooled to a viscosity that can no longer flow; instead it breaks into the jagged clinkers.

Pahoehoe and `a`a are Hawaiian words. A`a (pronounced "ah-ah") is a Hawaiian term for lava flows that have a rough rubbly surface composed of broken lava blocks called clinkers. The incredibly spiny surface of a solidified `a`a flow makes walking very difficult and slow. The clinkery surface actually covers a massive dense core, which is the most active part of the flow. As pasty lava in the core travels down slope, the clinkers are carried along at the surface. At the leading edge of an `a`a flow, however, these cooled fragments tumble down the steep front and are buried by the advancing flow. This produces a layer of lava fragments both at the bottom and top of an `a`a flow.

Pahoehoe is a Hawaiian term for basaltic lava that has a smooth, hummocky, or ropy surface. A pahoehoe flow typically advances as a series of small lobes and toes that continually break out from a cooled crust. The surface texture of pahoehoe flows varies widely, displaying all kinds of bizarre shapes often referred to as lava sculpture

Nearly all lava in Hawai`i erupts as pahoehoe, and some changes to `a`a during flowage and cooling. The critical factor that determines whether pahoehoe or `a`a forms is the relationship between the viscosity of the lava (resistance to flow) and the amount of internal disturbance or shear that occurs as lava spreads from a vent down slope.

Generally, if pahoehoe viscosity is high (relatively cool pasty lava), a low rate of shear or disturbance may cause `a`a to form. For example, a slow-moving pahoehoe flow that has cooled sufficiently may transform into `a`a as the flow continues to advance. If pahoehoe viscosity is low (relatively hot fluid lava), a high rate of shear or disturbance is required for transition to `a`a. For example, when a fluid pahoehoe flow pours over a steep slope, it increases its speed and creates conditions favorable for `a`a to form.

Any factor that increases the viscosity of pahoehoe, such as cooling, loss of gas, or crystallization will favor the transition of pahoehoe to `a`a. Pahoehoe can change to `a`a, but the reverse never occurs.