Big Island Ground Tour
Stop 12: Mamalahoa Road
Taking one of the roads inland from the coast, one can get some interesting views of unusual geological features on the Big Island, as well as fine views of Kohala. Mamalahoa Road, which runs between Waimea and Kailua Kona is one of these routes.
[400x206 JPEG]
Puu Waawaa is a trachyte dome formed on the north rift zone of Hualalai volcano as a small magma chamber belonging to the volcano underwent differentiation. It is more than 1.5 km in diameter and has been dated as being about 105,000 years old. Puu Waawaa contains some fragments of obsidian (volcanic glass) and is cut by erosional gullies that give it its fluted look -- some local folks call this Puu Waawaa the "cupcake mountain"!
[550x272 JPEG]
From a distance, Kohala volcano can be seen to be another shield volcano with shallow slopes. In this view, we see the drier southern flanks of the volcano.
From here you can continue on to Stop 13 on the ground, or you can pick another point from the Big Island Virtual Field Trip page.
[Return to top of
Big Island Virtual Field Trip
]
|
Authors: Peter Mouginis-Mark & Lori Glaze
Copyright by P. Mouginis-Mark Curator: Lori Glaze Page Design: Laurence Laforga |
Copyright © 1996 All Rights Reserved. |