Akaka Falls State Park
Encyclopedia
| Akaka Falls | |
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| Location: | Honomu, Hawaii Hawaii Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of... United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
| Type: | Plunge |
| Total Height: | 422 feet (129 m) |
| Longest Single Drop: | 422 feet (129 m) |
| Number of Drops: | 1 |
| World Height Ranking: | 612 |
Akaka Falls State Park is a state park
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
on Hawaii Island
Hawaii (island)
The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...
, in the US state of Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
The park is about 11 miles (17.7 km) north from Hilo, west of Honomū off the Hawaii Belt Road (route 19) at the end of Hawaii Route 220, 19°51′15"N 155°9′9"W. It includes Akaka Falls, a 422 feet (128.6 m) tall waterfall. Akaka in the Hawaiian language
Hawaiian language
The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
means "A rent, split, chink, separation; to crack, split, scale". The accessible portion of the park lies high on the right shoulder of the deep gorge into which the waterfall plunges, and the falls can be viewed from several points along a loop trail through the park. Also visible from this trail is Kahūnā Falls.
Local folklore describes a stone here called Pōhaku a Pele that, when struck by a branch of lehua āpane, will call the sky to darken and rain to fall. Lehua āpane or ōhia āpane is an ōhia tree (Metrosideros polymorpha
Metrosideros polymorpha
The ōhia lehua is a species of flowering evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that is endemic to the six largest islands of Hawaii. It is a highly variable tree, being tall in favorable situations, and much smaller when growing in boggy soils or on basalt...
) with dark red blossoms.
Akaka Falls is located on Kolekole Stream. A large stone in the stream about 70 feet (21.3 m) upstream of the falls is called Pōhaku o Kāloa.
Just to the north of Akaka Falls is the Umauma Falls
Umauma Falls
The Umauma Falls are located on the Umauma River on the Big Island of Hawaii, approximately 16 miles north of Hilo.They are unique in Hawaii as being a series of three waterfalls in close proximity. They are easily viewed from an overlook located on private botanical garden property accessible for...
, which is a snapshot in time of how Akaka Falls was formed. Currently, it is accessible through private property known as Umauma Experience.