Four months ago, on March 20, 2018, Tim and I walked into our rental house in Kapoho Vacationland on the Big Island of Hawaii.
"Feels like coming home," Tim said. Agreed.
The house, christened Punana Kiowai, provided rest and relaxation for three nights, a comfortable and welcome tropical refuge. A variety of outdoor living areas graced the premises, including a naturally lava-heated pool.
"Feels like coming home," Tim said. Agreed.
The house, christened Punana Kiowai, provided rest and relaxation for three nights, a comfortable and welcome tropical refuge. A variety of outdoor living areas graced the premises, including a naturally lava-heated pool.
But the best thing about this rental was its location, mere steps away from a significant marine conservation area, the Wai`opae Tide Pools. The Tide Pools formed when the ocean found its way into an ancient lava flow, creating a series of pools and passages populated by coral, sea creatures and tropical fish. Tim and I first discovered this area on a 2015 trip to the Big Island and I have returned three times since then, renting a total of four different homes in Kapoho near the spectacular Tide Pools.
We unpacked our bags, settled in, and the backyard pool beckoned.
“You know”, I said to Tim as I floated in the warm water, “lava-heated means there’s lava flowing underground, probably close by.”
We unpacked our bags, settled in, and the backyard pool beckoned.
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| These lava-heated pools were a common feature of many homes in Kapoho Vacationland. |
“You know”, I said to Tim as I floated in the warm water, “lava-heated means there’s lava flowing underground, probably close by.”
As it turned out, the phrase Naturally Lava-Heated Pool was indeed a warning. Nearby Kilauea Volcano was biding its time, lying in wait to reclaim the land.
And reclaim the land it did. By mid-June of 2018, our rental home, Punana Kiowai, as well as 320 other homes in Kapoho Vacationland, the Kapoho Bay, and the Wai`opae Tide Pools, lay buried under up to 20 feet of lava.
Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes on earth, has been oozing lava for 35 years. This spring, pressure building in underground vents caused thousands of earthquakes, then massive amounts of lava spewed to the surface and bulldozed its way over the land.
What is lost:
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| Gone. This view of the Tide Pools from our 2015 rental home—Mika Lani, Jewel By the Sea—will never be seen again. 20 feet of lava now covers this home and the surrounding area. |
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| Four-spot Butterfly Fish swim and graze on the impressive coral in the Wai`opae Tide Pools. |
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| A Yellowtail Coris (bottom), Peacock Grouper, and Moorish Idols (top) swim in the tide pools in this photo from 2016. |
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| A pair of Ornate Butterfly Fish. I wonder if these two, and the fish in the preceding photographs, made it out to the open sea before lava filled the Tide Pools? |
Am I sad the Wai`opae Tide Pools no longer exist in our world? Oh yes, immeasurably so. But do I consider this an ecological disaster? No. This is simply a volcano being a volcano, doing what volcanoes do best: reminding us that we are not in charge.
I can't claim expertise about the geology of the Hawaiian Islands, but it seems possible that some day, maybe hundreds/thousands of years from now, tide pools may again form in the new lava along Hawaii’s eastern shore. And I have learned one important geological tenet: