Hālona Blowhole is a rock formation and a blowhole on the island of

Oahu, Hawaii Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northw ...

off of

Hanauma Bay Hanauma (; ) is a marine embayment formed within a tuff ring and located along the southeast coast of the Island of Oahu in the Hawaii Kai neighborhood of East Honolulu, in the Hawaiian Islands. Hanauma is one of the most popular tourist dest ...

at Hālona Point overlooking the Pacific Ocean. In Hawaiian ''hālona'' means "lookout".

Description

On windy days when the tide is high, the ocean breeze sends the waves rolling on to the shore where the rock formation then shoots sea spray high into the air through the cave acting like a

geyser A geyser (, ) is a spring with an intermittent water discharge ejected turbulently and accompanied by steam. The formation of geysers is fairly rare and is caused by particular hydrogeological conditions that exist only in a few places on Ea ...

. The blowhole is most active when the

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

is high and the winds are strong, and it can shoot sea spray up to thirty feet high in the air. Hālona Point is a tourist spot, with visitors coming for the scenery, the beach at the cove, and in the winter as a spot to go to see

humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the monotypic taxon, only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh u ...

s or

Honu The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

turtles (Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles). The blowhole is perhaps the most popular rock formation of its kind found in Hawaii.

Formation

The Hālona Blowhole was formed thousands of years ago during the period of volcanic activity in Oahu, with

Koko Crater Koko Crater ( Hawaiian: ''Kohelepelepe'' or ''Puʻu Mai'') is an extinct tuff cone located on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu near Hawaiʻi Kai. It is northeast of Hanauma Bay and south of the Koʻolau Range. Geology Koko Crater is a part o ...

's lava flowing into the ocean.The Halona blowhole. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.discover-oahu.com/halona-blowhole.html The lava tubes extend into the ocean which are narrow at the top. There is also a narrow rift along the base of the cliff which was formed by a large section of rock that broke away from the land.

Hālona Cove

Hālona Cove, called "Cockroach Cove" by the local population, is the small pit of sand close to Hālona Blowhole, visited by tourists and locals for swimming when the surf is calm. In a large wedged shape area next to the cove is a reef coated with Sinularia Leather Coral, with different species of fauna like

echinoderm An echinoderm () is any animal of the phylum Echinodermata (), which includes starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars and sea cucumbers, as well as the sessile sea lilies or "stone lilies". While bilaterally symmetrical as ...

slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less Terrestrial mollusc, terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced ...

coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

s, and

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 20 families, 164 genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

In popular culture

This was the site of the sex scene between

Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a Scottish actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first person from Scotland to be no ...

and

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor. Initially known for playing tough characters with tender hearts, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year caree ...

in the 1953 film ''

From Here to Eternity ''From Here to Eternity'' is a 1953 American romantic Drama (film and television)#War drama, war drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 From Here to Eternity (novel), novel of the same name by J ...

'', and also between

Drew Barrymore Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, talk show host, and businesswoman. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she has received multiple List of awards and nominations received by Drew Barrymore, awards a ...

and

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...

in the movie ''

50 First Dates ''50 First Dates'' is a 2004 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Segal and starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, with Rob Schneider, Sean Astin, Lusia Strus, Blake Clark, and Dan Aykroyd in supporting roles. It follows the st ...

''. In 2012, the beach was featured in the music video for

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

's "Starships". The blowhole was the location for a scene in '' Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom''.

Dangers

Below Hālona is one of the most dangerous ocean currents in the world due to the Ka Iwi channel.

References

External links

Secrets of Hawaii – Blowhole
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halona Blowhole Landforms of Oahu Lava tubes Blowholes Tourist attractions in Honolulu County, Hawaii