Leala Shoreline is located near

Taputimu Taputimu is a village in southwestern Tutuila Island in American Samoa. It is the nearest village to the Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary, although the main access is from the neighboring village of Futiga, American Samoa, Futiga. It is home ...

, just west of Fagatele Point, on

Tutuila Island Tutuila is the largest and most populous island of American Samoa and is part of the archipelago of the Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Pacific Ocean, Central Pacific. It is located roughly north ...

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

. It is a U.S.

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best e ...

. The coast is marked by rocky outcroppings, deep and shallow surge channels, as well as tide pools and a mixture of coconut, scrub and grass forest. Sliding Rock is located nearby. Leala Shoreline is a young flow of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, 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 planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

, inter-bedded with layers of

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...

that illustrate erosion by wave action. The area is covered with dense

tropical vegetation Tropical vegetation is any vegetation in tropical latitudes. Plant life that occurs in climates that are warm year-round is in general more biologically diverse than in other latitudes. Some tropical areas may receive abundant rain the whole y ...

. Leala Shoreline was designated a U.S. National Natural Landmark in 1972. The National Natural Landmark covers . The Leala Shoreline Trail begins in Vailoatai and follows the shoreline through thick tropical vegetation with periodic views of the Leaala Shoreline National Natural Landmark. The steep trail travels in and out of ancient volcanic craters before ending at a junction with the Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary Trail. It is a roundtrip hike. Petroglyphs can be seen near the Leʻala Shoreline on the coast at Avaloa Point.https://npshistory.com/publications/npsa/feasibility-study.pdf Taputimu Tide Pools are located nearby and are accessible for swimming at low tide.

References

{{American Samoa National Natural Landmarks in American Samoa Tutuila

See also

References