A Look At Oahu In Hawaii

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3 years ago

The Hawaiian Islands is home to some beautiful landscape and wonderful ecosystems that offer a variety of opportunities to explore. Filled with different species of animals and plants, you will always be surprised with what you find.

Here are a few pictures and some information to give you an idea of what the island is made of.

The beaches by Turtle Bay Resort were not only great to relax on, but offered some nice areas to snorkel. If you are able to visit then keep an eye out for one for the three native turtle species that call this home. You will see the Hawksbill, the Leatherback, and the more common Green turtle.

A big part of the Hawaiian islands culture has turtles incorporated into it. In fact the Green sea turtle is the only indigenous one and is known as "Honu", which people have said is good luck, a long life, and having high endurance. Another cool fact is most of the turtles will nest between May and October, with the hatchlings coming out around December time.

Since the island is closer to the Equator, the water is warmer then some other places. The islands were created from what is called "hot spots".

Hot lava erupts from below the seafloor over millions of years. As the lava rises, it cools and accumulates. Over time, as more cooled and it built up and eventually was large enough to rise out of the ocean to create the Hawaiian Islands.

The trick though is that these "hot spots" do not really move, instead the Pacific tectonic plate is moving. The plate moves while the hot spot stays in place and over millions of years it has created the chain of the islands that many know as Hawaii.

As I write this, new islands are being formed while the older ones are slowly being eroded away. One day the older islands will no longer have any lava contributing to their creation and instead will break down to be no more one day. We will never see this in our lifetime but it is cool to think that we can see and visit a place that one day will no longer be here.

These hot spots are fixed in place, but some recent studies have shown that some hot spots are able to migrate very slowly over a long time period.

The island is home to some unique plants and trees where some are only found on the Hawaiian Islands. The islands are home to some endemic species, which are species of animals or plants that are only present on these Islands. They exist no where else in the world!

Do not get confused with native endemic and non-endemic species. A species can be native to the islands through either evolution or coming to the island in a natural way without human interference. Some of the native species can be found in other parts of the world, in this case, that would make a certain species native and non-endemic.

It is estimated from a recent 2014 survey, that around 40% of species on Hawaii are considered endemic. That's an amazing number and sad to think that if something happen to wipe out these species on the islands, we wouldn't be able to ever see them again.

The sunsets are breathtaking as well. If you ever have the chance to visit one of the Hawaiian islands, you should take it. Each offers a unique experience.

Hopefully next stop for me in the future is the Galapagos Islands! Ever been, let me know what I should do or see.

Happy Travels and hope you enjoy a few of my pictures. Thanks for taking a look and if you like it, then subscribe for more.

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3 years ago

Thanks will check it out.

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3 years ago