ʻAkaka Falls State Park
Template:Use American English Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox protected area Template:OkinaAkaka Falls State Park is a state park on [[Hawaii (island)|HawaiTemplate:Okinai Island]], in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The park is about Template:Convert north of Hilo, west of Honomū off the Hawaii Belt Road (Route 19) at the end of Hawaii Route 220. It includes its namesake Template:OkinaAkaka Falls, a Template:Convert tall waterfall. Template:OkinaAkaka is named after Chief 'Akaka-o-ka-nī'au-oi'o-i-ka-wao, grandson of Kūlanikapele and Kīakalohia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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, a Template:Convert tall waterfall, and several smaller cascades.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Local folklore describes a stone here called Pōhaku a Pele that, when struck by a branch of lehua Template:Okinaāpane, will call the sky to darken and rain to fall.<ref name="place">Pukui, Mary Kawena, Samuel H. Elbert, and Esther T. Mookini. 1974. Place Names of HawaiTemplate:Okinai. The University of HawaiTemplate:Okinai Press, Honolulu. 289 pp. (Template:ISBN)</ref> Lehua Template:Okinaāpane or Template:OkinaōhiTemplate:Okinaa Template:Okinaāpane is an Template:OkinaōhiTemplate:Okinaa tree (Metrosideros polymorpha) with dark red blossoms.
Template:OkinaAkaka Falls is located on Kolekole Stream. A large stone in the stream about Template:Convert upstream of the falls is called Pōhaku o Kāloa.<ref name="place"/>
Wildlife
The [[Oopu alamoo|Template:OkinaoTemplate:Okinaopu Template:OkinaalamoTemplate:Okinao]] is an endemic Hawaiian species of goby fish that spawns in stream above the waterfall, but matures in the sea. These fish have a suction disk on their bellies that allows them to cling to the wet rocks behind and adjacent to the waterfall. Using this disk, they climb back up to the stream when it is time to spawn.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A shrimp called the Template:OkinaōpaekalaTemplate:Okinaole has also evolved to climb Template:OkinaAkaka Falls and live in Kolekole Stream.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See also
References
External links
- Hiking to the Template:OkinaAkaka Falls in Big Island, HawaiTemplate:Okinai
- Photo Essay on Template:OkinaAkaka Falls State Park