If
anyone has an easy job, it’s the Hawaii tourism authority, the organization
responsible for promoting the island as a tourist destination. Using language
such as “lush rain forests” and “black sand beaches,” they sum up the Island of
Hawaii as a “vast canvas of environments.”
The
words are the perfect description for the top image, captured by the Moderate
Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite on
January 26, 2014. The remarkably cloud-free view shows the range of ecological
diversity present on the island. The lower image, an astronaut photograph,
shows the island in context. At 10,432 square kilometers (4,028 square miles),
the Island of Hawaii is nearly twice as big as all of the other islands
combined.
Many
of the world’s climate zones can be found on Hawaii for two related reasons:
rainfall and altitude. The Big Island is home to Mauna Kea, the tallest sea mountain
in the world at 4,205 meters (13,796 feet) and the tallest mountain on the
planet—if you measure from seafloor to summit, a distance of more than 9,800
meters (32,000 feet).
Despite
Mauna Kea’s height, it is Mauna Loa that dominates the island. With an altitude
of about 4,169 meters (13,678 feet)—the actual number varies depending on
volcanic activity—Mauna Loa is the most massive mountain in the world.
Temperatures dip low at the summit of these peaks, resulting in a tree-free
polar tundra, pale brown in this image.
The
mountains help shape rainfall patterns on Hawaii so that desert landscapes
exist side-by-side with rainforests. In fact, average yearly rainfall ranges
from 204 millimeters (8 inches) to 10,271 mm (404 inches). Trade winds blow
mostly from the east-northeast, and the sea-level breezes hit the mountains and
get forced up, forming rainclouds. The east side of the island is lush and
green with tropical rainforest. Much less moisture makes it to the lee side of
the mountains. The northwestern shores of Hawaii are desert. Kona, on the
western shore, receives plenty of rain because the trade winds curve back
around the mountains and bring rain. Pale green areas on all sides of the
island are agricultural land and grassland.
The other environmental force painting
Hawaii’s canvas is volcanism. Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea are both volcanic, though
only Mauna Loa has been active recently. However, in this department, Kilauea
is the superlative: It is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. A small puff
of steam rises from an erupting vent in this image. Black and dark brown lava
flows extend from both Kilauea and Mauna Loa.
Interested in other sunny island
destinations? Be sure to visit the Earth Observatory’s latest image gallery,
Islands in the Sun.
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