Onomea Bay! EarthCache
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This Earth Cache is located on a 4 Mile Scenic Drive on the Hamakua Coast.The road twists and snakes through a lush tropical rain forest lined with streams. Several stops allow for breathtaking views of the ocean, coast, and the collapsed Onomea Arch. The Hawai'i Tropical Botanical Garden can be found about halfway and a nearby interesting and short hike down the old donkey trail to the ocean provides you with stunning photographic and scenic opportunities.
The road is paived, Winding and can be a bit rough in places, there is a small area to pull off park and have a look at the Onomea Bay. There is no plaque at this sight
Geologists have determined that the Hawaiian Islands lie on the upper crust of the Pacific continental plate. The plate is the size of half the North Pacific Ocean, and it literally floats on the heavier magma of the earth's core. A crack in the continental plate leaks lava to the upper surface. This is the "hot spot" that has created the entire Hawaiian archipelago. Lava pours out of the ocean floor and piles up as hardened magma until the newly formed land reaches above sea level. Volcanic activity and subsequent erosion have created impressive geological features. The Big Island has the third highest point among the world’s islands.
Slope instability of the volcanoes has generated damaging earthquakes with related tsunamis, particularly in 1868 and 1975. Steep cliffs have been caused by catastrophic debris avalanches on the submerged flanks of ocean island volcanos
Today "hot spots" still smoke on the Big Island of Hawaii, the youngest island in the chain, just as they did millions of years ago. The Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is very active; molten lava flows down to the ocean, creating more new land on the island of Hawaii. The next Hawaiian island, named Loihi, is a mountain of fresh lava slowly growing on the sea floor southeast of the Big Island. In several thousand years it will rise above the ocean surface, and another Hawaiian island will be added to the chain.
The Shaping of Onomea Bay
Over the millennia, erosion has been one of the primary forces shaping Onomea Bay. Onomea and Alakahi streams have carved the valley, while winds and waves have cut the lava cliffs. Earthquakes and tsunamis have rocked the coast, causing radical changes in the face of the landscape.
The most notable work of the elements was Onomea Arch, carved from the cliffs by restless waterpower. A famous landmark, the arch attracted visitors to Onomea Bay long before the Garden was established. Onomea Arch fell during an earthquake in 1956 after standing for thousands of years. Today the fallen arch appears as a wide crevice in the cliff on the north side of Onomea Bay, but this favorite Hilo landmark is preserved in antique postcards which recall its glory from the turn of the century.
Here are the two types of Lava:
Pahoehoe...
Pahoehoe Lava is one of the most interesting forms of lava. Since it tends to flow more as a thick liquid it can pour uphill as well as downhill and can create a huge variety of interesting shapes.
If pahoehoe lava flows over a fairly flat ground it will coat the ground much like a parking lot - with a thick, smooth, flat coating of lava. However, when pahoehoe encounters barriers in the way, such as rocks, hills, fissures and bumps, it flows over and around them and produces different shapes.
A'a...
We have an internal disagreement about a'a lava. I say that it is one of the worst lavas in the world - almost impossible to walk over and if you ever wanted to get revenge on an enemy you would strip them naked and leave them stranded in the middle of an a'a flow - they would certainly not get out alive. Others in our team say that really, a'a is not that hard to walk on and really wouldn't be that big of a deal to get out of.
A'a lava looks completely different than pahoehoe lava as it is formed. Whereas pahoehoe lava flows smoothly like water or molasses, a'a lava tumbles in the form of small rocks with very jagged sharp edges. The rocks are very lightweight, as opposed to pahoehoe that is extremely dense, and a'a rocks tend to pile up on each other with a lava front that might be a few feet to 40 or 50 feet high of tumbling red hot sharp rocks.
Congratulations!! To Wholagal for FTF!!!
In order to log this cache, you must answer the Question and E-mail the answers to me DO NOT POST THE ANSWERS IN YOUR LOG IF YOU DO IT WILL BE DELEATED!!!:
1. You must go the the rock wall of the over look and Estimate how high the cliffs are above the rocks of where the Arch Fell?
2. There are only two types of lava while looking at the rocks of where the Arch fell What type of Lava Rock is it?
3. Optional You may take a picture of your group with the Onomea Arch in the back ground.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)