The morning was spent at the Wai'Opae Tide pools. The area is considered an earthquake scarp. Many varieties of organisms were seen in the pools, such as, Coral (Lobe, Thick Finger, Finger, Lichen, Hawaiian Plate, Papyrus, Rice, Smooth Rice), Anglefish (Potter's, Fisher's) Blenny (Ewa Fang, Scale Eating Fang) Boxfish (Spotted, Whitley's) Butterflyfish (Raccoon, Multiband, Treadfin) Hawaiian Sergeant, Hawaiian Rock Damselfish Pacific Gregory, Goatfish (Whitesaddle, Sidespot, Orange), Soppted Puffer, Moorish Idol, Tiger Cowry, Urchin (banded, Collector, Slate) and the list goes on.
After our jaunt in the pools, we headed to a pahoehoe lava field. Before getting there we stopped at a church that was moved to prevent it from being destroyed duirng a lava flow.
At the lava field you could see where younger lava was flowing under the older lava because areas would be raised up in spots. The basalt is considered extrusive and is made of olivine. The basalt here in Hawaii is heavier in its specific gravity then the basalt we saw in New Zealand. This type of basalt is characterisitc of oceanic volcanoes. There was a lot of primary succession happening on the lava field. Eventually over time the area will be able to support tree life.
We spent some time hiking along the field to see where lava was flowing. Walking over the field was interesting. Certain areas had a hallow sound to it. Steam could be seen coming up from areas. Some of the flows altered in color from black to grey and to combinations of both. Orange and white lichen was seen along with small ferns in crevices and cracks.
Finally we made it to the edge were we could see a wall of steam coming up from the ocean. When the waves crashed along the shore, the steam would part and you could see the red, hot lava flowing into the water. Once the lava hit the cooler ocean water, it would shatter making the volcanic sand of the beach below.
After spending time seeing what we spent a hour hiking too, we headed back to the vans and headed to an area to sit in a hot pool. The area was filled with locals and tourist. Surfers were enjoying the waves in this little nook while others were enjoying the hot pool or the setting of the sun. A nice way to spend a long day out in the sun!
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