Jul 8, 2010 | Environment
Pu‘u ‘Ula‘ula is the highest point on Haleakala’s summit, with an elevation of 10,023 feet. But the mountain was once much higher than this.
In its prime, Haleakala may have reached a height of 15,000 feet.
At one time Maui consisted of 2 separate islands. The sea between them was filled with erosion from the two Volcanoes, and the fertile Central Maui valley was formed connecting the West and South. Factors that have contributed to Haleakala’s shrinking include thousands of years of wind and water erosion that began to carve two large river valleys out of the rim, rapid caldera collapse, and slow sinking into the ocean bed. The volcanoes of the Hawaiian chain do not erupt violently like Mt St. Helens, but rather have a long, sustained and relatively gentle eruptive cycle. They form “shield” volcanoes, so-called because they resemble the silhouette of an ancient Greek shield. As with icebergs, these volcanoes show only a small part of their total mass above water, leaving 95% below on an ocean seamount. Haleakala is the 3rd highest point in the Hawaiian islands. It is also the third highest mountain in the world from seamount to top.
As the Pacific plate moves northwestward at 10 cm per year, it carries the shield-stage volcano away from its heat source. As a result, the volcano erupts less frequently, and the lava erupted will differ chemically from that produced during the shield stage because of the diminished heat supply. These changes define the character of the third stage, called postshield volcanism. Nearly 200 km from the hot spot, Haleakala volcano is still in its postshield stage of volcanic evolution, and has been active for two million years. It remains active, having erupted several times in the past 1,000 years.
Haleakala’s last eruption was near the southernmost foot of the mountain at La Perouse Bay in the mid-1700s. Postshield lava supply is diminished, but not curtailed completely.
Haleakala will erupt again, given the frequency of its past eruptions and long eruptive history. Modern under- standing is that the recent, and coming eruptions are the waning efforts of a postshield-stage volcano.
Question of the Week:
Have you visited Haleakala National Park?
Leave a comment here or post it on the Focus Maui Nui Facebook Page. Mahalo!
Jun 10, 2010 | Environment, Sustainability
In 1790, Capt. John Kendrick of Boston set out to trade Pacific Northwest seal and otter fur in China. He stopped in Hawai’i to replenish his ship with wood, water and salt. Sailing offshore he smelled a familiar odor emanating from a cooking fire. It was sandalwood, so revered and precious in Asia, and a commodity that was escalating in world prices.
Hawaiians called it ‘iliahi. It was sandalwood that introduced Hawaiians to the concept of credit. Foreign merchants used items such as military uniforms, liquor, guns, silks, leather, silver mirrors, and brass cannon, to barter for sandalwood.
In 1805, after unifying the Hawaiian Islands, King Kamehameha I began to trade with foreign countries. To participate in the lucrative sandalwood trade he purchased a brig, the Ka’ahumanu, and in 1817, with Capt. Alexander Adams, sailed to China. Because of China’s brokerage charges and port fees, he failed to make a profit. But having learned from that experience, he imposed an anchorage fee of 80 Spanish dollars for every ship sailing into Hawai’i harbors. When he died in 1819, the monopoly on ‘iliahi took a downward plunge.
By 1821 credit debt extended on promised sandalwood reached a stunning $300,000. The common people were displaced from their agricultural and fishing duties, and all labor was diverted to harvesting sandalwood. In 1826, to reduce the staggering promissory note debt, the Kingdom of Hawai’i enacted a sandalwood tax.
Every man was ordered to deliver to the government a half picul of ‘iliahi, (a “picul” was 133.3 pounds of ‘iliahi heartwood, at $8 to $10 dollars per picul) or pay four Spanish dollars. Every woman older than 13 was obligated to make a 12-by-6-foot kapa cloth for trade. The Kingdom of Hawaii continued selling sandalwood until the mid 1840s. This period saw two major famines and ‘iliahi was harvested to the point of commercial extinction in Hawai’i forests.
Organizations involved in education, conservation, protection and restoration of native Hawaiian endemic and indigenous plants and eco-systems can be found by visiting the Directory of Resources at http://www.iliahi.org/
Question Of The Week:
What else has been harvested into extinction?
Leave a comment here or post it on the Focus Maui Nui Facebook Page. Mahalo!
Oct 22, 2009 | Environment, Sustainability
Aia i ka`ōpua ke ola (There is life in the clouds.)
Water conservation is something we all can practice. Except for the air we breath, water is the single most important element in our lives. It is too precious to waste.
Here are some simple suggestions to help you save hundreds, even thousands, of gallons per month. Do one thing each day to save water. Don’t worry if the savings seem minimal, every drop counts, and every person will make a difference.
Run your clothes and dish washer only when they are full. You can save up to 1,000 gallons a month.
Shorten your shower by a minute or two and you’ll save up to 150 gallons per month.
Turn off the water when brushing your teeth, shaving or washing your hair and save 25-300 gallons a month.
Use a hose nozzle or turn off the water while you wash your car and save up to 100 gallons every time.
Sweep instead of hose your lanai and sidewalks and save 25 gallons of water for every 5 minutes of hosing.
You are in control. START TODAY!
To find out how much water you use at home visit http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/sq3.html.
Question of the Week: How do you conserve water?
