USA

Hanauma Bay (Hawaii, Oahu): View from the Rim

It is entirely conceivable that more people want to snorkel in Hanauma Bay than at any other site in the world. In 2017 it got more than 800,000 visitors. Hanauma is on Oahu, just 11 miles from Waikiki. Its setting is spectacular, its fish are abundant in kind and number, and even a child can paddle in the shallows and see a lot of fish. $35 packages provide van shuttle from Waikiki, equipment, and instructions. In short, for decades Hanauma has been loved almost to death. In 1977 its recommended carrying capacity was calculated at 1350/day. By 1999 five times that many visitors came each day. Yet  the death, even the sickness, of environments can set in largely unnoticed, especially if it is the lower end of the food chain that is being attacked and much of the violence, though massive, involves – literally, as it does at Hanauma – small hits with no weapon more powerful than feet crunching coral.

Since 2002 visitors, whose daily number is limited, must not only pay an entry fee but also view and educational video in the marine education center at the rim of the Bay. On Tuesdays the Bay is closed to the public so the fish can feed without being disturbed. In May 2019 the first annual “Hanauma Bay Biological Carrying Capacity Survey” was published; it details the issues, summarizes earlier research, describes human impact investigations, and offers management and educational recommendations. Beyond that, nursery-grown coral was introduced into the Bay in late 2020. Lockdown during the COVID pandemic gave it an eight-month rest. But the people of Hawaii, where tourism is the largest single part of the economy, paid a huge price for the lockdown. Ordinarily the 4.5 million visitors who come to Oahu each year spend as much as $6+ billion, the equivalent of $6000 for every person who lives on the island. Tourist money – or the lack of it – greatly affects employment and family, school and social service budgets. Hawaii ranks first among the 50 states in cost of living, and that remains essentially the same whether the tourists come or not.

Hanauma Bay (Hawaii, Oahu): View from the Beach

Starting very close to the beach, lava and coral deposits create a maze of trenches and larger lagoons where both fish and snorkelers are abundant. About 400 species of fish are found in the bay, as well as green sea turtles. Close to shore there is no surf and the water under the surface is fairly tranquil. Not much further out the water is often dangerous, and even close in the rocks and coral are sharp and abrasive. It is against the law to touch the living coral on the boulder-like coral “heads” beyond the shallow fringing reef.

Obviously, crowds of snorkelers disturb the fish when they are feeding in the same area. A more insidious danger is the damage to the habitat itself. Since 2018 Hawaii has banned sunscreens which contain oxybenzone and octinoaxate, which are destructive to coral reefs. The Carrying Capacity Survey presents information about other dangers to the Bay, with data about historical fish biomass and coral cover, and results of experiments to measure water clarity, sediment accumulation and the effects of trampling on the coral. To reduce trash on the beach and in the water, there is no food service at the beach level, though picnicking is allowed.

Hanauma Bay (Hawaii, Oahu): View from the South End of the Beach (“Witches’ Brew”)

The Hawaiian Islands formed as their tectonic plate moved northwesterly over a volcanic hotspot. Thus the eastern islands, including the Big Island of Hawaii, are younger than the western ones, such as Kauai. The several volcanoes of Oahu itself recapitulate the hotspot-moving plate principle. The Waianae Range, to the west beyond the visible horizon of this panorama, dates from about 3.9 million years ago. The Ko’olau Range, visible to the northwest in the first panorama in the Hanauma collection, probably first erupted 2.5 million years ago and became dormant about 1.7 million years ago. Formed from vents off the Ko’olau are Koko Crater, which rises in the near distance to the northeast in all three Hanauma panoramas. It, the famous Diamond Head and Punchbowl, other volcanic formations to the west and northeast, and Hanauma itself, are grouped as the geologically young Honolulu Volcanics, which continued erupting until 35,000-76,000 years ago, with further eruptions regarded as possible.

While Hanauma is volcanic, and certainly looks like the remnant of a volcanic cone, geologically it is a “tuff ring”. On the sea floor, underwater, vents released magma. The magma, upon meeting the water, caused explosions of steam – “hydromagmatic blasts” – which blew the magma into fine ash. The ash built up into rings of ash, which solidified into tuff. Mixed into the tuff are occasional pieces of the coral and basalt of the former sea floor. Subsequently ocean waves breached the southeast rim of the ring, creating the current bay. Ledges or “benches”, like the one that features so prominently in the near northeast here, emerged when salt weathering and other erosion caused the cliffs above them to retreat. The daily wetting of a bench by sea water then protects it from drying out and disintegrating.

Waimea Valley (Hawaii, Oahu): Lower (North) End of Botanical Garden

Before the arrival of Europeans and Americans, Hawaii was divided into ahupua‘a, districts based on socioeconomic, geological and climatic features. Most often an ahupua‘a consisted of a slice of land extending in one direction toward the sea (makai) and in the other toward the mountains (mauka). The variety of climate zones promoted self-sufficiency, and the landscape facilitated travel within the ahupua‘a (though not so easily from one to the other, except by sea). The uplands furnished wood for canoes and houses, and also medicinal plants. The agricultural midlands grew bananas, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, and coconuts. The sea and seaside yielded fish, octopus, shells, seaweed, and salt. The Valley’s ecology and economy are much different now. Within the built-up parts, tourism and environmentalism have combined to produce a nature park and formal botanical gardens. The Valley also includes a number of archaeological sites with remnants of agricultural, domestic and religious use.

The Waimea Valley Botanical Garden collected and now maintains many plants not native to Hawaii. Those collections include species from Guam, Fiji, Central and South America, Madagascar, the Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and such obscure but botanically important sites as Lord Howe Island and the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands. The tension between native and foreign botany, which has roots, so to speak, in agriculture, tourism and conservation, can be found elsewhere on Oahu. Quite near each other in downtown Honolulu are the Foster Botanical Garden, with a wide collection of introduced plants, and the Lili‘uokalani Botanical Garden, which is devoted to native Hawaiian plants. A laudable extreme in conservation and restoration of native plants is the Hawaiian Rare Plant Program at the Lyon Arboretum, also on Oahu. The Program houses, in two refrigeration units, the in vitro plant and seed collection of the native rarities, and propagates them for restoration and reintroduction projects.

Waimea Valley (Hawaii, Oahu): Archaeological Site in the Botanical Garden

One source states that “Waimea Valley is one of Oahu’s last partially intact ahupuaa” (geological and socioeconomic districts set by the original inhabitants). “Partially intact” is indeed an important qualifier. In 1848, as part of the Great Māhele land division, the Valley passed from administration by native high priests (kahuna nui) into private ownership, at first still royal. Native title to Waimea Valley ended with a foreclosure in the late 1800s, leading to several land auctions. Along the way the land was turned to various uses, including sandalwood harvesting and cattle ranching. In the 1970s Waimea Falls Park was established, but under private commercial ownership. After that venture faltered, an effort was made to establish a theme park, which led to bankruptcy in 2001. In 2003 a collaboration of government agencies, native peoples, and environmentalists succeeded in putting the valley back under the authority of a Native Hawaiian governing entity.

Advocacy groups include the Stewards of Waimea (stewardsofwaimea.org), which offers information about the relevant political issues and cultural background; and Mālama Pūpūkea-Waimea (MPW) (http://pupukeawaimea.org/), a 501(c)(3) federal NPO which, as their website puts it, works “to replenish and sustain the natural and cultural resources of the Pūpūkea and Waimea ahupua‘a for present and future generations through active community stewardship, education, and partnerships.” In more concrete terms, the MPW conducts education and outreach, works to insure compliance with laws about coastal use and fishing, organizes beach cleanups, and conducts a Native Hawaiian Plant Coastal Restoration Project.

Oneonta Gorge (Oregon, USA): View from Below the Lower Falls

Oneonta Gorge, 40 miles east of Portland, is a little south of the mouth of Oneonta Creek into the Columbia River from the south. The Lower Falls are of the plunge type, with a single drop of 100 feet. The basalt walls are a home to many plant species that grow only in the Columbia Gorge, and because of the spray and the variations in sunlight at a single time there are microclimates. The name “Oneonta” as applied to this landscape by Carleton Eugene Watkins, a native of Oneonta, New York, who came west in 1851and was the first to photograph the Gorge.

The base of the Lower Falls is not accessible on foot by direct trial, but rather only by the creek bed. This often requires wading through chest-high snow-melt water and scrambling over tricky and unstable logjams.

Oneonta Creek (Oregon): View from Top of Triple Falls

“Triple Falls is one of the most frequently photographed and most scenic waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge. Oneonta Creek splits into three channels, flowing around bulbous protrusions in the basaltic bedrock, each channel plunging 64 feet into a large sheer-walled amphitheater, creating a classic example of the Segmented form of a waterfall.” https://www.worldwaterfalldatabase.com/waterfall/Triple-Falls-4043 [includes a photo of Triple Falls from the nearby overlook]

“The waterfalls of Oneonta Creek seem to have an everlasting identity crisis. Of the four major waterfalls along the creek, only one of them is consistently labeled correctly. Most people can easily identify Triple Falls, but no one seems to know for sure which of the other three waterfalls along the creek is the real Oneonta Falls. Well, now someone does. …[T]he [M]iddle [F]alls, has been more often than not referred to as Oneonta Falls. However, the real Oneonta Falls occurs about 1/4 of a mile upstream from [the Middle Falls]. Initially this was thought of as an inconsistency on the topographic maps, however, after seeing a picture of the real Oneonta Falls and later confirming its location was the same as that marked on the topographic maps, it became clear that this was simply a case of people not being able to read maps correctly.” https://www.worldwaterfalldatabase.com/waterfall/Middle-Oneonta-Falls-4046

Waldo Lake (Oregon, USA): View from the North End

Waldo Lake is one of the largest natural lakes in Oregon. Its surface area is 9.8 square miles and maximum depth 420 feet.

There is no regular inlet and thus no source of nutrients for water plants. Thus the water is extremely pure and transparent, even to depths of over 100 feet. Motorized boats are permitted only if they are electric-powered and travel less than 10 mph. Because of the great purity of the water, on a satellite map it is difficult to tell the difference between the rocks on the land and those under water. That makes it difficult as well to place the node point of the camera in the panoramic software.

Wheeler (Oregon, Tillamook County)

Photographs taken in July, 2004