Lake Waiau is a high-elevation lake located at above sea level on

Mauna Kea Mauna Kea ( or ; ; abbreviation for ''Mauna a Wākea''); is a dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii. Its peak is above sea level, making it the highest point in the state of Hawaii and second-highest peak of an island on Earth. The peak ...

, on the island of

Hawaiʻi Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. It is arguably one of the highest lakes in the United States. After the evaporation of Ka Wai o Pele in 2018 and the short-lived lake in Halema'uma'u crater in 2020, Lake Waiau is the only lake on

Hawaiʻi Island Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii ) is the List of islands of the United States by area, largest island in the United States, located in the U.S. state, state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of High island, volcanic ...

and one of very few lakes at all in the state of

. It is relatively small, only about 100 m across, and varies in size as the water level rises and falls. At high water levels a small outlet stream appears at the northwest end, but it is absorbed into the ground after a short distance. The name means "swirling water" in Hawaiian, though it is usually rather placid. It usually freezes in winter, but aquatic insects such as midges and

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

s can be found breeding in the water.

Description

Lake Waiau is located inside the ''Pu'u Waiau'' cinder cone at an altitude of 3970 m. It is approximately heart shaped and its diameter reaches about 100 m. The average surface area of the lake is around . The size of its surface area fluctuates significantly over the year. It reaches its peak during spring with a maximal depth between 2 m and 2.5 m. By the end of the summer, it often has shrunk to one third of its original size with a maximal depth below 1 m. A spillover into the ''Pohakuloa Gulch'' occurs when the lake depth is more than 2.3 m. The lake is only fed by precipitation, which occurs primarily during the winter; its catchment area is about , mostly located within the ''Pu'u Waiau'' cinder cone. The lake is an anomaly in the peak region of Mauna Kea as everywhere else the ground is unable to retain water. The exact nature of the impermeable ground layer of the lake is still unknown. It is assumed that fine-grained densely compressed ash, basalt rock or a small permafrost layer may play a role. No permafrost layer has been established so far for the lake area itself, but it was found at another location in the peak area. The bottom of the lake, however, is known to have a thick sediment layer.

Temporary shrinkage 2010-2014

Between 2010 and 2013 the lake shrank significantly. On 26 September 2013, the lake had been reduced to a mere puddle of less than 2% of its original surface size, with a reported width of and maximum depth of . By December 2013, three months later, the maximum depth had dropped further to .Jensen, Chelsea (2020-07-25). Lake Waiau remains full. West Hawaii Today, 25 July 2020. Retrieved from https://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2020/07/25/hawaii-news/lake-waiau-remains-full-2/. The exact causes for the water loss are unknown. The suspects are drought conditions and the thawing of an assumed permafrost layer under the lake leading to increased seepage. After the particularly wet winter of 2013/2014, however, the lake was back to around 75% of its original size by May 2014, and subsequently returned to its normal size. The drought conditions on Mauna Kea from 2010 to 2013 are currently believed to have been the primary reason for the water loss.

Mythology

The lake is of some importance in Hawaiian mythology. Aside from '' Poliʻahu,'' there are two additional snow deities, ''Lilinoe'' and ''Waiau'', who are associated with Mauna Kea, and according to Westervelt, the lake was probably named after the goddess of the same, who used to bathe in it. Originally Hawaiians considered the whole peak region of Mauna Kea, including Lake Waiau, a sacred site, and only priests and

chieftain A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categorized a ...

s were allowed to access it. Later, after the formation of the Hawaiian kingdom, the peak region was occasionally visited by members of the royal family. The last one to do so was Queen Emma in 1881, who also took a bath in the lake during her visit.

Gallery

File:Lake Waiau3.jpg, view from above File:Lake Waiau person.jpg, with a person for scale File:Lake Waiau outlet2.jpg, outlet stream File:Lake Waiau at Mauna Kea - panoramio.jpg, Shrinkage October 2012 File:Lake Waiau Panorama.jpg, May 26, 2019

References

Ehlmann, Bethany L.; Raymond Arvidson,; Bradley Jolliff,; Sarah Johnson,; Brian Ebel,; Nicole Lovenduski,; Julie Morris,; Jeffery Byers,; Nathan Snider,; Robert Criss,. ''Hydrologic and isotopic modeling of alpine Lake Waiau, Mauna Kea, Hawai'i. (1).'' Pacific Science. 2005. HighBeam Research. (February 16, 2014). http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-129714347.html ''Disappearing Lake Waiau Is a Mystery to Scientists.'' Honolulu Star – Advertiser. 2013. (February 16, 2014)

/ref> Alan C. Ziegler: ''Hawaiian Natural History, Ecology, and Evolution''. University of Hawaii Press, 2002, , S. 94 () H. Arlo Nimmo: ''Pele, Volcano Goddess of Hawai'i: A History''. McFarland, 2011, , S. 28 () ''Hawaiian Culture & Mauna Kea''
auf den Webseiten der ''Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station''; retrieved, 22 February 2014) Erin Miller
''On the rise: Lake Waiau benefits from wetter weather''
. Hawaii Tribune Herald, 30. Mai 2014

Bibliography

*Jane Ellen Massey: ''Lake Waiau: A Study of a Tropical Alpine Lake, Past and Present''. University of Hawaii Press, 1978 *Alfred H. Woodcock, Meyer Rubin, R. A. Duce: ''Deep Layer of Sediments in Alpine Lake in the Tropical Mid-Pacific''. Science, New Series, Vol. 154, No. 3749 (Nov. 4, 1966), pp. 647–648
JSTOR

External links

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, 2003-06-19
''Volcano Watch: Lake Waiau is shrinking fast''
at Hawaii 24/7
''Lake Waiau, Hawaii, USA''
at lakelubbers.com
''Mauna Kea – The Hike To Lake Waiau''
at instanthawaii.com

(archived) {{authority control Bodies of water of Hawaii (island) Waiau Waiau