Waimea Canyon, also known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, is a large

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cu ...

, approximately ten miles (16 km) long and up to 3,000 feet (900 m) deep, located on the western side of

Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest islan ...

in the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost ...

of the United States. Waimea is Hawaiian for "reddish water", a reference to the erosion of the canyon's red soil.Pukui, Mary Kawena. ''Place Names of Hawaii''. University of Hawaii Press. . The canyon was formed by a deep incision of the Waimea River arising from the extreme rainfall on the island's central peak,

Mount Waialeale Mount Waialeale is a shield volcano and the second highest point on the island of Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands. Its name literally means "rippling water" or "overflowing water" The mountain, at an elevation of , averages more than of rain a ...

, among the wettest places on earth.

Geology

The canyon is carved into the tholeiitic and post-shield calc-alkaline

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or ...

s of the canyon

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

. The lavas of the canyon provide evidence for massive faulting and collapse in the early history of the island. The west side of the canyon is all thin, west-dipping lavas of the Napali Member, while the east side is very thick, flat-lying lavas of the Olokele and

Makaweli Kaumakani (literally, "place in the wind" in the Hawaiian language) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 749 at the 2010 census, up from 607 at the 2000 census. History Kaumakani was of ...

Members. The two sides are separated by an enormous fault along which a large part of the island moved downwards in a big collapse. The canyon has a unique geologic history as it was formed not only by the steady process of

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is d ...

but also by a catastrophic collapse of the volcano that created Kauai. Like the other Hawaiian islands, Kauai is the top of an enormous volcano rising from the ocean floor. With lava flows dated to about 5 million years ago, Kauai is the oldest of the large Hawaiian islands. Roughly 4 million years ago, while Kauai was still erupting almost continuously, a portion of the island collapsed. This collapse formed a depression which then filled with lava flows. In the time since,

rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

water from the slopes of Mount Waialeale have eroded Waimea Canyon along one edge of the collapse. On the east side of the canyon, the cliff walls are built from thick lava flows that pooled in the depression. Over time, the exposed basalt has weathered from its original black to bright red.

Geography

Waimea Canyon State Park encompasses 1,866 acres (7.5 km²) and is a popular tourist attraction on the island. It provides a wilderness area with numerous hiking trails. It can be accessed from Waimea on Hawaiʻi state road 550, which is 18 miles long and leads up to Kōkeʻe State Park. The island of Niʻihau, only a short distance west of Kauaʻi at that point, can be clearly seen from the highway. Falls at Waimea Canyon

Gallery

File:Waimea Canyon State Park Hawaii (32406013018).jpg, Waimea Canyon State Park, Kauai, Hawaii File:Red sand Waimea Canyon Park Kauai, Hawaii (45365032885).jpg, Red sand in Waimea Canyon Park Kauai, Hawaii File:Waimea Canyon State Park Lookout, Hawaii (45365003255).jpg, Waimea Canyon State Park Lookout, Kauai, Hawaii File:Helicopter tour Waipo'o Falls Jurassic Parc Kauai, Hawaii (44460880410).jpg, Helicopter tour to the Waipoo Falls, Kauai, Hawaii File:Waipoo Falls Waimea Canyon Park Kauai, Hawaii (45554242114).jpg, Upper Waipoo Falls, Waimea Canyon Park Kauai, Hawaii File:Waimea Canyon lookout Kauai, Hawaii pano (45365115955).jpg, Canyon Trail to Waipoo Falls, Waimea Canyon Park Kauai, Hawaii

References

External links

Yale University: Geology of the Waimea CanyonHawaii State Parks: Waimea Canyon State Park
* {{authority control Landforms of Kauai Canyons and gorges of Hawaii State parks of Hawaii Calderas of Hawaii Protected areas of Kauai