Koʻolau Range

Koolau Range

View of Koolau Range from offshore Lanikai (windward coast)
Highest point
Peak Konahuanui
Elevation 3,150 ft (960 m) [1]
Prominence 2,303 ft (702 m) [2]
Coordinates 21°27′0″N 157°54′0″W / 21.45000°N 157.90000°W / 21.45000; -157.90000Coordinates: 21°27′0″N 157°54′0″W / 21.45000°N 157.90000°W / 21.45000; -157.90000 
Geography
Koolau Range
Hawaiian Islands
Location Oahu, Hawaii, US
Parent range Hawaiian Islands
Topo map USGS Kilohana (HI)
Geology
Age of rock 1.7 Ma
Mountain type Dormant shield volcano
Volcanic arc/belt Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain
Last eruption 32,000 - 10,000 BP
Climbing
Easiest route trail
Designated 1972

Koolau Range is a name given to the fragmented remnant of the eastern or windward shield volcano of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1972.[3]

Geology

It is not a mountain range in the normal sense, because it was formed as a single mountain called Koolau Volcano (koolau means "windward" in Hawaiian, cognate of the toponym Tokelau). What remains of Koolau is the western half of the original volcano that was destroyed in prehistoric times when the entire eastern half—including much of the summit caldera—slid cataclysmically into the Pacific Ocean. Remains of this ancient volcano lie as massive fragments strewn nearly 100 miles (160 km) over the ocean floor to the northeast of Oahu. The modern Koolau mountain forms Oahu's windward coast and rises behind the leeward coast city of Honolulu — on its leeward slopes and valleys are located most of Honolulu's residential neighborhoods.

View of Koolau Range from the top. Kaneohe is visible on the right side

The volcano is thought to have first erupted on the ocean floor more than 2.5 million years ago. It eventually reached sea level and continued to grow in elevation until about 1.7 million years ago, when the volcano became dormant. The volcano remained dormant for hundreds of thousands of years, during which time erosion ate away at the initially smooth slopes of the shield-shaped mountain; and the entire mass subsided considerably. The highest elevation perhaps exceeded 3,000 meters (9,800 ft); today, the summit of the tallest peak, Puu Konahuanui is only 3,100 feet.

After hundreds of thousands of years of dormancy, Koolau volcano began to erupt again. Some thirty eruptions over the past 500,000 years or so have created many of the landmarks around eastern Oahu, such as Diamond Head, Koko Head (Hanauma Bay), Koko Crater, Punchbowl Crater, Tantalus, and Āliapaakai, and are collectively known as the Honolulu Volcanic Series.[4] Geologists do not always agree on the dates of these more recent eruptions, some dating them to around 32,000 years ago, others to as recently as 10,000 years ago. Geologists believe that there is at least a remote possibility that Koolau volcano will erupt again.

Transportation

There are three roads that tunnel through the southern part of the Koolau Range, connecting Honolulu to the Windward Coast. From leeward to windward:

References

  1. ↑ "Koolau Range". Peakbagger.
  2. ↑ "Konahuanui". Peakbagger.
  3. ↑ "National Natural Landmark". National Park Service. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  4. ↑ "Xenoliths in the Honolulu Volcanic Series, Hawaii". Oxford University Press. 3 February 1970. Retrieved 2014-09-25.
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