Pololū Valley

Last updated May 02, 2019

Pololū (Hawaiian spelling: Pololū, stressed on the final 'ū') is the northernmost of a series of erosional valleys forming the east coast of Kohala Mountain on the Island of Hawaiʻi. The word pololū means "long spear" in the Hawaiian language.^[1]

Kohala is the oldest of five volcanoes that make up the island of Hawaii. Kohala is an estimated one million years old—so old that it experienced, and recorded, the reversal of earth's magnetic field 780,000 years ago. It is believed to have breached sea level more than 500,000 years ago and to have last erupted 120,000 years ago. Kohala is 606 km² (234 sq mi) in area and 14,000 km³ (3,400 cu mi) in volume, and thus constitutes just under 6% of the island of Hawaii.

Hawaiʻi is the largest island located in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is the largest and the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of 4,028 square miles (10,430 km²), it has 63% of the Hawaiian archipelago's combined landmass, and is the largest island in the United States. However, it has only 13% of Hawaiʻi's people. The island of Hawaiʻi is the third largest island in Polynesia, behind the two main islands of New Zealand.

The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaiʻi, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the State of Hawaii. King Kamehameha III established the first Hawaiian-language constitution in 1839 and 1840.

Features

The valley forms a deep cut in the side of Kohala Mountain, and is traversed in its entirety by Pololū stream. The upper (southern) end of the valley is located at coordinates 20°9′3″N155°44′39″W / 20.15083°N 155.74417°W / 20.15083; -155.74417 (Pololū Valley start) . Hiking trails criss-cross the valley, and lead in and out. The valley is fronted on the ocean side by a beautiful black sand beach. A yellow sand dune protects verdant areas inland from the occasional fury of the ocean.

Hiking is the preferred term, in Canada and the United States, for a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails (footpaths), in the countryside, while the word walking is used for shorter, particularly urban walks. On the other hand, in the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, the word "walking" is acceptable to describe all forms of walking, whether it is a walk in the park or backpacking in the Alps. The word hiking is also often used in the UK, along with rambling, hillwalking, and fell walking. The term bushwalking is endemic to Australia, having been adopted by the Sydney Bush Walkers club in 1927. In New Zealand a long, vigorous walk or hike is called tramping. It is a popular activity with numerous hiking organizations worldwide, and studies suggest that all forms of walking have health benefits.

The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east.

Black sand Black-colored rock and mineral particles

Black sand is sand that is black in color. One type of black sand is a heavy, glossy, partly magnetic mixture of usually fine sands, found as part of a placer deposit. Another type of black sand, found on beaches near a volcano, consists of tiny fragments of basalt.

History

Prior to European colonization, Pololū Valley was renowned for its kalo (taro) farming. A particular variety of kalo (kalo Pololū) was grown here, notable for its crimson stems. Kalo farming was complemented by rice in the 1800s. In the 20th century, though, the valley fell into disuse. A section of the Kohala ditch, which diverts water from Honokane Valley to the sugarcane fields of the North Kohala district, run along the sides of Pololū Valley. Hikes to and in the ditch are offered by a tour company.^[2]

Rice is the seed of the grass species Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima. As a cereal grain, it is the most widely consumed staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in Asia. It is the agricultural commodity with the third-highest worldwide production, after sugarcane and maize.

Sugarcane, or sugar cane, are several species of tall perennial true grasses of the genus Saccharum, tribe Andropogoneae, native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South, Southeast Asia, and New Guinea, and used for sugar production. It has stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in the sugar sucrose, which accumulates in the stalk internodes. The plant is two to six metres tall. All sugar cane species can interbreed and the major commercial cultivars are complex hybrids. Sugarcane belongs to the grass family Poaceae, an economically important seed plant family that includes maize, wheat, rice, and sorghum, and many forage crops.

Kohala, Hawaii portion of the island of Hawaii

Kohala is the name of the northwest portion of the island of Hawaiʻi in the Hawaiian Archipelago. In ancient Hawaii it was often ruled by an independent High Chief called the Aliʻi Nui. In modern times it is divided into two districts of Hawaii County: North Kohala and South Kohala. Locals commonly use the name Kohala to refer to the census-designated places of Halaʻula, Hāwī, and Kapaʻau collectively. The dry western shore is commonly known as the Kohala Coast, which has golf courses and seaside resorts.

Transportation

Pololu Beach from the end of the trail. PololuBeach.jpg — Pololu Beach from the end of the trail.

Pololū Valley is accessed from the North, from a lookout at mile 28 at the end of highway 270 ^[3](forming the terminus of Akoni Pule Highway) at coordinates 20°12′13″N155°44′1″W / 20.20361°N 155.73361°W / 20.20361; -155.73361 (Pololū Valley Overlook) Coordinates: 20°12′13″N155°44′1″W / 20.20361°N 155.73361°W / 20.20361; -155.73361 (Pololū Valley Overlook) .^[4] A relatively short hike on a graded trail leads to the bottom of the valley. The trail continues beyond the valley, climbing over a ridge to neighboring Honokane Nui Valley.

The ʻAkoni Pule Highway, Hawaiʻi State Highway Route 270, is the main road along the North Kohala Coast on the Island of Hawaiʻi from Kawaihae to ʻUpolu Point and then on to Pololū Valley Lookout. The entire route is 27.0 miles (43.5 km) long.

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

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References

↑ Lloyd J. Soehren (2004). "lookup of pololu". on Hawaiian place names. Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
↑ Wanda A. Adams (September 8, 2002). "Hike Through History at Pololū Valley". Honolulu Advertiser . Retrieved 2010-01-10.
↑ Doughty, A. (2014), Hawaii, the big island revealed: The ultimate guidebook. Wizard Productions Inc.
↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pololū Valley

External links

Media related to Pololŭ Valley at Wikimedia Commons

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[1] Lloyd J. Soehren (2004). "lookup of pololu". on Hawaiian place names. Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library. Retrieved 2010-01-10.

[2] Wanda A. Adams (September 8, 2002). "Hike Through History at Pololū Valley". Honolulu Advertiser . Retrieved 2010-01-10.

[3] Doughty, A. (2014), Hawaii, the big island revealed: The ultimate guidebook. Wizard Productions Inc.

[4] U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pololū Valley