ʻAkaka Falls State Park | |
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Location | Honomu, Hawaiʻi, United States |
Coordinates | 19°51′14″N155°9′16″W / 19.85389°N 155.15444°W |
Governing body | Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources |
ʻAkaka Falls State Park is a state park on Hawaiʻi Island, in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The park is about 11 miles (18 km) north of Hilo, west of Honomū off the Hawaii Belt Road (Route 19) at the end of Hawaii Route 220. It includes its namesake ʻAkaka Falls, a 442-foot (135 m) tall waterfall. ʻAkaka is named after Chief 'Akaka-o-ka-nī'au-oi'o-i-ka-wao, grandson of Kūlanikapele and Kīakalohia. [1] The accessible portion of the park lies high on the right shoulder of the deep gorge into which the waterfall plunges, and the falls can be viewed from several points along a loop trail through the park. Also visible from this trail is Kahūnā Falls, a 300-foot (91 m) tall waterfall, and several smaller cascades. [2]
Local folklore describes a stone here called Pōhaku a Pele that, when struck by a branch of lehua ʻāpane, will call the sky to darken and rain to fall. [3] Lehua ʻāpane or ʻōhiʻa ʻāpane is an ʻōhiʻa tree ( Metrosideros polymorpha ) with dark red blossoms.
ʻAkaka Falls is located on Kolekole Stream. A large stone in the stream about 70 feet (21 m) upstream of the falls is called Pōhaku o Kāloa. [3]
The ʻoʻopu ʻalamoʻo is an endemic Hawaiian species of goby fish that spawns in stream above the waterfall, but matures in the sea. These fish have a suction disk on their bellies that allows them to cling to the wet rocks behind and adjacent to the waterfall. Using this disk, they climb back up to the stream when it is time to spawn. [4] A shrimp called the ʻōpaekalaʻole has also evolved to climb ʻAkaka Falls and live in Kolekole Stream. [5]
The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the U.S. state of Hawaii:
Beacon Rock State Park is a geologic preserve and public recreation area on Route 14 in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area in Skamania County, Washington, United States. The park takes its name from Beacon Rock, an 848-foot (258 m) basalt volcanic plug on the north shore of the Columbia River 32 miles (51 km) east of Vancouver. On October 31, 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived here and first measured tides on the river, indicating that they were nearing the ocean.
Keaīwa Heiau State Recreation Area is the ruins of a temple at the summit of a hill and neighborhood called ʻAiea Heights on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. The recreation area includes camping facilities and a 4.8-mile (7.7 km) trail. It also offers clear views of Pearl Harbor. The high point of Puu Uau is about halfway down the trail, where native ohia lehua and koa trees may be viewed. The remains of a military plane that crashed in 1944 can also be seen along the trail. The hike is not particularly difficult, however it does include one quite steep switchback stretch and can be extremely muddy if it has just rained. Allow for around 2.5 hours of easy strolling. A possible translation of Keaʻiwa would be mysterious, incomprehensible. It is believed that this name was given in reference to the healing powers of the plants that no one could really explain. In addition, Keaiwa Heiau may have also been known as a "Heiau Hoʻola," or the healing or life-giving heiau according to native Hawaiian scholar Mary Kawena Pukui.
Kōkeʻe State Park is located in northwestern Kauaʻi in the Hawaiian Islands. It includes the Kōkeʻe Museum at the 15 mi (24 km) marker on State Road 550, which focuses on the weather, vegetation, and bird life; a lodge which serves food and sells gifts; cabins for rent; and hiking trails. The park is just north of Waimea Canyon State Park at 22°7′49″N159°39′32″W and includes 4,345 acres (17.58 km2) of mountainous terrain.
Wailua River State Park and the Wailua Complex of Heiaus, which it includes, are located on the eastern side of the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The park consists primarily of the Wailua River valley, which is the only navigable river in Hawaii. Visitors to this park can kayak, take riverboat cruises and explore the rainforest. Even motorboats and water skiing are permissible on the river.
The Hawaiʻi Belt Road is a modern name for the Māmalahoa Highway and consists of Hawaiʻi state Routes 11, 19, and 190 that encircle the Island of Hawaiʻi. The southern section, between Hilo and Kailua-Kona is numbered as Route 11. The section between Hilo and Waimea is Route 19. Between Waimea and Kailua-Kona, the road is split in two: the original "mauka" route and a "makai" Route 19, completed in 1975, which serves as access to the Kona and Kohala Coast resorts. In the Hawaiian language, mauka means "towards the mountain" and makai means "towards the sea". These terms are commonly used in travel directions.
Wapama Falls is the larger of two waterfalls located on the northern wall of Hetch Hetchy Valley below Hetch Hetchy Dome, in Yosemite National Park. It flows almost year-round and during peak flow has been known to inundate the trail bridge crossing its base, making the falls impossible to pass. The falls consist of two primary drops angled roughly 60 degrees to each other, and a broad cascade at its base.
The Limahuli Garden and Preserve is a 17-acre botanical garden (6.9 ha) and 985-acre nature preserve (399 ha) on the north shore of Kauaʻi island, Hawaiʻi. It is one of the five gardens of the non-profit National Tropical Botanical Garden.
Metrosideros polymorpha, the ʻōhiʻa lehua, is a species of flowering evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that is endemic to the six largest islands of Hawaiʻi. It is a member of the diverse Metrosideros genus, which are widespread over the southwest Pacific. It is the state tree of Hawai‘i.
Darwin Falls is a waterfall located on the western edge of Death Valley National Park near the settlement of Panamint Springs, California. Although there exists a similarly named Darwin Falls Wilderness adjacent to the falls, the falls themselves are located in and administered by Death Valley National Park and the National Park Service. There are several falls, but they are mainly divided into the upper and lower, with a small grotto in between. At a combined 80 feet (24 m), it is the highest waterfall in the park. The canyon is walled by dramatic plutonic rock.
The ʻākohekohe, or crested honeycreeper, is a species of Hawaiian honeycreeper. It is endemic to the island of Maui in Hawaiʻi. The ʻākohekohe is susceptible to mosquito‐transmitted avian malaria and only breeds in high‐elevation wet forests.
The Hawaiian freshwater goby, or ‘O‘opu, is a species of goby endemic to Hawaii, where it occurs in mountain streams. Males of this species can reach a standard length of 7 cm (2.8 in), while females only reach 6 cm (2.4 in).
ʻŌpaekaʻa Falls is a waterfall located on the ʻŌpaekaʻa Stream in Wailua River State Park on the eastern side of the Hawaiian island of Kauai. It is a 151-foot (46 m) waterfall that flows over basalt from volcanic eruptions millions of years ago. Below the ridge down into the ravine through which the water falls can be seen the vertical dikes of basalt that cut through the horizontal Koloa lava flows. The name "ʻŌpaekaʻa" means rolling shrimp, "ʻopae" being Hawaiian for "shrimp," and "kaʻa" for "rolling". The name dates back to days when the native freshwater shrimp Atyoida bisulcata were plentiful in the stream and were seen rolling and tumbling down the falls and into the churning waters at the fall's base.
McWay Falls is an 80-foot-tall (24 m) waterfall on the coast of Big Sur in central California that flows year-round from McWay Creek in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, about 37 miles (60 km) south of Carmel, into the Pacific Ocean. During high tide, it is a tidefall, a waterfall that empties directly into the ocean. The only other tidefall in California is Alamere Falls.
Salt Creek Falls is a cascade and plunge waterfall on Salt Creek, a tributary of the Middle Fork Willamette River, that plunges into a gaping canyon in the Willamette National Forest near Willamette Pass in Lane County, Oregon. The waterfall is notable for its main drop of 286 feet (87 m), ranking third highest among plunge waterfalls in Oregon, after Multnomah Falls and Watson Falls.) The pool at the bottom of Salt Creek Falls waterfall is 66 feet (20 m) deep.
Kolekole Beach Park is a Hawaii county park on the island of Hawaii. As of April 2017, it is currently closed due to lead contamination found in the soil of the lawn areas. It will remain closed as further testing is done.
The Mauna Kea Ice Age Natural Area Reserve is a Hawaii state natural reserve that includes the Mauna Kea Adz Quarry, on the southern slope of Mauna Kea on the island of the Hawaiʻi.
Cyanea rivularis is a rare species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common name plateau cyanea. It is endemic to Hawaii, where it is known only from the island of Kauaʻi. There are three small populations of the plant remaining in the wild, for a total of 19 individual plants. The plant was federally listed as an endangered species of the United States in 1996.
Mānoa Falls Trail is a 1.6-mile (2.6 km) trail on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. The trail is a part of the Honolulu Makau Trail System, and leads to a popular 150 foot waterfall called Manoa Falls. Hiking the trail is approximately a one-hour round trip. Many tourists are attracted to the waterfall and scenery throughout the trail. The trails have a history as one of the earlier Hawaiian trails. There are many legends of the Night Marchers, or ancient Hawaiian warriors associated with Manoa Falls. Scenes in movies such as Jurassic Park and Catching Fire were filmed at Manoa Falls. The Manoa Falls trail harbors many plant species and tropical birds as well. The Lyon Arboretum, located in the Manoa Valley at the base of the trail is another popular tourist attraction and aims to preserve endangered Hawaiian plants. Some may say that this trail is "Easy". However, there is currently no formal way of rating trails. Therefore, since the trail can be very slippery when wet the rating can be subjective. Thus, users should use caution on any trail and turn around if not comfortable. Rain showers are very common on the trail and the path to the waterfall is often muddy and slippery. Flash floods may also occur at any time. Swimming in the pools of water on the trail is highly discouraged due to the threat of Leptospirosis.