Hanauma (; Hawaiian: [həˈnɐwmə]) is a marine embayment formed within a tuff ring and located along the southeast coast of the Island of Oʻahu in the Hawaii Kai neighborhood of East Honolulu, in the Hawaiian Islands. Hanauma is one of the most popular tourist destinations on the Island and has suffered somewhat from overtourism. At one time, this popular tourist destination accommodated over three million visitors per year. In 1956, dynamite was used to clear portions of the reef to make room for telephone cables linking Hawaii to the west coast of the United States.
Name The prefix hana means bay in the Hawaiian language; therefore, the name is uma bay. There are two etymological interpretations of the second part of its name. One interpretation derives it from the Hawaiian word for curve, referring to either the shape of the feature or to the shape of the indigenous canoes that were launched there. Another stems from the indigenous hand-wrestling game known as "Uma".
Marine life
Hanauma is both a Nature Preserve and a Marine Life Conservation District (the first of several established in the State of Hawaiʻi). Reflecting changes in attitude, its name has changed over time from Hanauma Bay Beach Park to Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve. Visitors are required by law to refrain from mistreating marine animals or from touching, walking, or otherwise having contact with coral heads, which appear much like large rocks on the ocean floor (here, mostly seaward of the shallow fringing reef off the beach). It is always recommended to avoid contacting coral or marine rocks as cuts to the skin can result and neglecting such wounds may bring medical problems. About 400 species of fish are known to inhabit the bay. Hanauma Bay is known for its abundance of Green sea turtles, Chelonia mydas, known as Honu. Hanauma is a nursery ground for the immature turtles, which have their nesting grounds at French Frigate Shoals. It is also known for its abundance of parrotfish. Coral bleaching due to sediment in the water column has affected the coral reefs in Hanauma. In 2014 and 2015, 47% of the corals at Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve suffered from coral bleaching, close to 10% of the corals in the nature preserve died.
Geology
The Hawaiian Islands are a group of volcanoes that have risen up over a hot spot, which is a section of the Earth's surface that has exhibited volcanism for an extended period of time. Volcanic chains such as the Hawaiian Islands form as a result of the movement of a tectonic plate across fixed hot spot beneath the surface. In the case of the Hawaiian Islands, the Pacific plate has moved slowly northwestward over such a hotspot. Approximately 3.9 million years ago, the Waiʻanae volcano created the island of Oʻahu. About 2.5 million years ago, the Koʻolau volcano breached the ocean's surface and continued to grow in elevation until about 1.7 million years ago, when it went dormant. Most of the eastern or windward portion of Oʻahu are remnants of this volcano. Most of the familiar geographic landmarks of eastern Oʻahu were created by eruptions from Koʻolau from about 500,000 to 10,000 years ago. The eastern flank of the Koʻolau volcano including the caldera slid into the sea, leaving the Koʻolau mountain range that can be seen today on the windward side of the island. The Hanauma Crater was created about 32,000 years ago during the Honolulu volcanic series, the latest (and perhaps final) round of volcanic activity to occur on Oʻahu. Tens of thousands of years ago, a series of volcanic vents opened along the southeast shoreline of Oʻahu. Unlike the gentle lava flows currently building the island of Hawaiʻi, the late-stage eruptions on Oʻahu were most often short-lived violent explosions. The volcanic vents that formed Hanauma Crater opened on the sea floor. Upwelling magma vaporized the ocean water and steam explosions blew the magma into fine ash. The explosions built cones or rings of ash, which solidified into tuff. The eruptions shattered the sea floor—coral reef and basalt—and scattered pieces that are now embedded in the tuff. Wave erosion eventually cut through the low, southeast wall of the crater, forming the current bay.
Human history
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