some info's about Hawaii

Started by Tsanten Eywa 'eveng, August 27, 2011, 04:04:37 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Tsanten Eywa 'eveng

I am finding out some info's about Hawaii

It can be from volcano activity, hurricane/storm activity etc.....


4 to 5 tropical storms appear on Hawaii each year

but it is not so big dangers for extreme hurricanes, that can take several hundred, or thousands of lives on Hawaii

Well, we can thank the volcanoes on Hawaii

this happened when Hurricane Felicia in 3rd of august 2009, came to Hawaii. it was the strongest ever hurricane formed in the Eastern Pacific. It was on cateogry 4, winds was up to 145 mph(230 kmh)

on August 8, the hurricane slowed down to a cateogry 1.
But on Hawaii it slowed down from a cateogry 4 and down to winds in 35 mph(56 kmh;16 m/s)


I am soon going to find some more info

Thank you for reading this :)
And stay updated for more info!!!

Tsanten Eywa 'eveng

4600 years ago was the last eruption of Mauna Kea

of USGS is Mauna Kea assigned in hazard listing of 7 for its summit and 8 for its lower flanks

Mauna Kea is expected to erupt again, although there would be sufficient warning to evacuate. The telescopes on Mauna Kea's summit would be the first to detect the minute amounts of deformation resulting from the volcano's swelling, acting like expensive tiltmeters.

based on previous eruptions, such an event could occur anywhere on the volcano's upper flanks and would likely produce extended lava flows. Long periods of activity could build a cinder cone at the source. Although not likely in the next few centuries, such an eruption would probably result in little loss of life but significant damage to infrastructure.

Mauna Kea is a neighbour of Kohala and Mauna Loa

as seen on this map


The environment on Mauna Kea

The summit of Mauna Kea lies above the tree line, and consists of mostly lava rock and alpine tundra. An area of heavy snowfall, it is inhospitable to vegetation, and is known as the Hawaiian tropical high shrublands. Growth is restricted here by extremely cold temperatures, a short growing season, low rainfall, and snow during winter months. A lack of soil also retards root growth, makes it difficult to absorb nutrients from the ground, and gives the area a very low water retention capacity

Plant species found at this elevation include Styphelia tameiameiae, Taraxacum officinale, Tetramolopium humile, Agrostis sandwicensis, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Trisetum glomeratum, Poa annua, Sonchus oleraceus, and Coprosma ernodiodes.

One notable species is Mauna Kea Silversword (Argyroxiphium sandwicense var. sandwicense), a highly endangered endemic plant species that thrives in Mauna Kea's high elevation cinder deserts. At one stage reduced to a population of just 50 plants, Mauna Kea Silversword was thought to be restricted to the alpine zone, but in fact has been driven there by pressure from livestock, and can grow at lower elevations as well.

Wēkiu bugs feed on dead insect carcasses that drift up Mauna Kea on the wind and settle on snow banks. This is a highly unusual food source for a species in the genus Nysius, which consists of predominantly seed-eating insects. They can survive at extreme elevations of up to 4,200 m (13,780 ft) because of natural antifreeze in their blood. They also stay under heated surfaces most of the time.


Forest

The highest forested zone on the volcano, at an elevation of 2,000–3,000 m (6,600–9,800 ft), is dominated by Māmane (Sophora chrysophylla) and Naio (Myoporum sandwicense), both endemic tree species, and is thus known as māmane–naio forest. Māmane seeds and Naio fruit are the chief foods of the birds in this zone, especially the Palila (Loxioides bailleui). The Palila was formerly found on the slopes of Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Hualālai, but is now confined to the slopes of Mauna Kea—only 10% of its former range—and has been declared critically endangered.

The largest threat to the ecosystem is grazing by feral sheep (Ovis aries), cattle (Bos primigenius), and goats (Capra hircus) introduced to the island in the late 18th century. Feral animal competition with commercial grazing was severe enough that a program to eradicate them existed as far back as the late 1920s, and continued through to 1949.

Mouflon (Ovis aries orientalis) was introduced from 1962–1964, and a plan to release Axis Deer (Axis axis) in 1964 was prevented only by protests from the ranching industry, who said that they would damage crops and spread disease. The hunting industry fought back, and the back-and-forth between the ranchers and hunters eventually gave way to a rise in public environmental concern.

With the development of astronomical facilities on Mauna Kea commencing, conservationists demanded protection of Mauna Kea's ecosystem. A plan was proposed to fence 25% of the forests for protection, and manage the remaining 75% for game hunting.


Lower environment

A band of ranch land on Mauna Kea's lower slopes was formerly Acacia koa – Metrosideros polymorpha (koa-ʻōhiʻa) forest. Its destruction was driven by an influx of European and American settlers in the early 19th century, as extensive logging during the 1830s provided lumber for new homes.  Vast swathes of the forest were burned and cleared for sugar plantations. Most of the houses on the island were built of koa, and those parts of the forest that survived became a source for firewood to power boilers on the sugar plantations and to heat homes.

The Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge is a major koa forest reserve on Mauna Kea's windward slope. It was established in 1985, covering 32,733 acres (13,247 ha) of ecosystem remnant. Eight endangered bird species, twelve endangered plants, and the endangered Hawaiian Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) have been observed in the area, in addition to many other rare biota. The reserve has been the site of an extensive replanting campaign since 1989.[51] Parts of the reserve show the effect of agriculture on the native ecosystem, as much of the land in the upper part of the reserve is abandoned farmland.

Bird species native to the acacia koa–ʻōhiʻa forest include the Hawaiian Crow (Corvus hawaiiensis), the ʻAkepa (Loxops coccineus), Hawaii Creeper (Oreomystis mana), ʻAkiapōlāʻau (Hemignathus munroi), and Hawaiian Hawk (Buteo solitarius), all of which are endangered, threatened, or near threatened; the Hawaiian Crow in particular is extinct in the wild, but there are plans to reintroduce the species into the Hakalau reserve.

Recreation

Mauna Kea's coastline is dominated by the Hamakua Coast, an area of rugged terrain created by frequent slumps and landslides on the volcano's flank.The area includes several recreation parks including Kalopa State Recreation Area, Wailuku River State Park and Akaka Falls State Park.

There are over 3,000 registered hunters on Hawaii island, and hunting, for both recreation and sustenance, is a common activity on Mauna Kea. A public hunting program is used to control the numbers of introduced animals including pigs, sheep, goats, turkey, pheasants, and quail.

'Itan Atxur

This is a good topic. I'm gonna move it to the location board. Keep up the good research!

Check out more from my DeviantArt page HERE

Tsanten Eywa 'eveng

Quote from: 'Itan Atxur on September 23, 2011, 10:03:58 PM
This is a good topic. I'm gonna move it to the location board. Keep up the good research!

glad you liked it :)

Nìmwey

I am beginning to like Hawai'i more and more.

Seriously, gorgeous nature, I love the climate, lots of wild game to hunt, considering they are small islands (compare it with the Caribbean and Canaries for example), no dangerous snakes and few other dangerous animals, they lack many nasty diseases (but have a few others)...

My problems are just with the high land price, the natural disasters, and then personal stuff like banned animals (you can't have snakes, toucans, flying foxes and a number of parrot species, for example), and the fact that I'd rather have a Spanish-speaking country, but that's a minor detail and English is my other first/second choice. ;)

It will probably be a long time (years) before I give up on the dream of my own island paradise (yes, I know, a very romanticized dream, I know there are many downsides too), but if I can't get my/our own island, this is the ideal - tropical islands where you can hunt, and still reach some form of civilization on horseback (or with your own feet = you don't need a boat every time you need to go somewhere).