Читать книгу Kauai Trails. Walks strolls and treks on the Garden Island онлайн

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Earth began building the great shield volcano of Kauai about 6 million years ago, so Kauai is a mere infant in geological terms, compared to an Earth over 4 billion years old. Kauai’s initial period of activity, when the shield volcano was built, apparently ended about 3 million years ago. A quiescent period about 1.5 million years long followed; then a period of renewed volcanic activity began about 1.5 million years ago. New lavas then flowed over the eastern two-thirds of Kauai.

The last lava flow on Kauai is believed to have occurred on its southern shore near Poipu some 40,000 years ago. Erosion reigns now, changing the landscape constantly.

Life arrives

Living organisms colonize new land rapidly. In Hawaii, plants established themselves once there was a little soil for them. Seeds arrived on the air currents, too, or floated in from the sea, or hitched a ride on the feathers or in the guts of birds. Insects and spiders also took advantage of the air currents. Birds were certainly among the first visitors. Living things found little competition and quickly adapted to their new home, evolving into an astonishing variety of species many of which occur naturally only on the Hawaiian islands (“endemic to Hawaii”). The only mammals to arrive were the bat and the seal. Some birds became flightless—a fairly common adaptation on isolated islands with no ground predators.