Kehana Beach Photos
(adjunct to Oscar's Hot Springs Photos page 2)
These photos are from black-sand Kehana Beach on the Big Island's
southeastern Puna coast, a clothing-optional beach which seems to be popular
with many of the folks who visit the Puna district's hot springs and steam
caves.
NOTE: In case you want more detail, you can click any photo below
to view an enlarged, higher-quality (less .jpg compression) version. Those
alternate versions have larger file sizes, so please be patient while they
download.
Overview
of Kehana Beach, from the trail down from the road, facing northeast. The
black sand is of relatively recent origin, from a 1955 lava flow that exploded
into tiny crystals as it entered cool ocean waters. Erosion hasn't had
much time to smooth the rough edges of the sand crystals, so the sand can
cut you if a rogue waves sneaks up from behind and knocks you flat on your
belly.
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Waves crash
into the tide pools at the bottom of the trail to Kehana Beach. Yes, some
people have built some nice clifftop homes near the beach (even though
the whole area is downhill from the Kilauea volcano, and the beach itself
was created by lava flows less than half a century ago).
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A flock of
parrots often visits Kehana Beach. Dolphins also frolic offshore (but are
a little harder to catch on film).
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This tree
at Kehana Beach hangs on, even though undercut by the waves and with salt
water invading its roots. It didn't start off this close to the water,
but the ocean moved closer to the tree when the entire beach (along with
much of the Puna coast) fell several feet during a 1975 earthquake.
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Return to photos page 2 (hot
springs and steam caves on Hawaii's Big Island)
Any questions, comments, etc.? Please e-mail me.
© 1999-2001, 2004, 2007 Oscar Voss |