Hanauma Bay, Hawaii

Credit: NASA image by Robert Simmon, based on data copyright Space Imaging, Posted on: Tuesday, 12 October 2004, 06:00 CDT Download full size image

Hanauma Bay is the most popular area for snorkeling on the island of Oahu. Tame tropical fish [accustomed to handouts (now prohibited) from swimmers] inhabit a coral reef only a meter or two from the beach. The steep cliffs of a volcanic crater shelter the shore from the mid-Pacific waves. The Hanauma Crater is a relic of the latest (and perhaps final) burst of volcanic activity to occur on Oahu. Tens of thousands of years ago (up to 80,000) a series of volcanic vents opened along the southeast shoreline of Oahu. Unlike the gentle lava flows currently building the island of Hawaii, the late-stage eruptions on Oahu were violent explosions. The volcanic vents that formed Hanauma Crater opened on the sea floor.

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