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Coconut Island, or Moku Ola is a small island in Hilo Bay, just offshore from Liliuokalani Gardens, in Hilo, off the island of Hawaii, It is a small park, and is connected to the main island via a footbridge. The island includes a large grassy field, picnic areas, restroom facilities, and a few tiny sandy beaches. The name Moku ola literally means "healing island" in the Hawaiian language, since it was site of an ancient temple dedicated to healing.
This little island is such a great little spot for everyone to enjoy. This is NOT an amusement park, nothing flashy here! Just a nice park setting on a little island full of history! The Hawaiian name of it is Mokuola.
There is also a bit of history from WWII, the "towers" was once used by sailors to train on how to abandon ship. You'll find kids & adults jumping off for fun into the chilly waters! (See Picture Bellow) Also a bit of tsunami and town history of what used to be in the area before the 1946 tsunami.(See Picture Bellow)
You can enjoy the day picnicking with you family, bbqing, fishing, swimming, kayaking or paddleboarding. You can spend just a few moments there taking a nice walk through or spend most of the day cruising. It's just a great place to relax.
During the early morning of April 1, 1946, an earthquake of magnitude 7.4 occurred in an area of the Aleutian Trench located approximately 90 miles south of Unimak Island, part of the Aleutian Island chain. During the quake, a large section of seafloor was uplifted along the fault where the quake occurred, producing a large, Pacific-wide tectonic tsunami.
The most detailed, and well documented accounts of the 1946 Aleutian tsunami come from Scotch Cap, located on Unimak Island, and the Hawaiian Islands. Despite its enormous size at Scotch Cap, the 1946 tsunami had little effect on the Alaskan mainland, due to the presence of the Aleutian Islands, which absorbed the brunt of the tsunami's power, shielding the mainland.
The 1946 tsunami killed 159 people throughout the islands and caused $26 million in property damage. To prevent such widespread loss of life and property, the territory-wide Tsunami Warning System was put in place in 1948 and successfully utilized for the 1952 and 1957 tsunamis. In 1960 the warning system had been established for over a decade, but many residents failed to take the warning seriously or returned to their homes prematurely. The tsunami struck Kamehameha Avenue businesses and the heavily populated Waiakea area at one o’clock in the morning of May 23, 1960.
Tsunamis are often incorrectly referred to as tidal waves, but a tsunami is actually a series of waves that can travel at speeds averaging 450 (and up to 600) miles per hour in the open ocean. In the open ocean, tsunamis would not be felt by ships because the wavelength would be hundreds of miles long, with an amplitude of only a few feet. This would also make them unnoticeable from the air. As the waves approach the coast, their speed decreases and their amplitude increases. Unusual wave heights have been known to be over 100 feet high. However, waves that are 10 to 20 feet high can be very destructive and cause many deaths or injuries.
The Main Warning System
The central warning system for the Pacific Ocean is controlled out of two centers. One is found on Ewa Beach, Hawaii, which looks out for the lower, southern portion of the Pacific. The other is in Palmer, Alaska,
How the System Works
Protecting the West Coast of North America, an array of six buoys are
deployed in Pacific waters. Completed in 2001, the Deep Ocean
Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) Project is the system which would sound the clarion which might potentially save millions of inhabitants, were a tsunami to occur in the Pacific Ocean. Each buoy is anchored to the Ocean floor in deep water and consists of sensors and antennae which provide, via satellite, real-time data in two modes of oceanic and atmospheric conditions. These are standard and event modes. In standard mode, average sea surface height is routinely reported every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day. If on-board software detects an event, the system goes into event mode, in which “15-second values are transmitted during the initial few minutes, followed by 1-minute averages. The system returns to standard transmission after 4 hours of 1-minute real-time transmissions if no further events are detected.”
Coconut tree with silver bands up its trunk. The sign explains how frequently the Hilo area has been hit by tsunamis over the past century. The bands on the palm tree demonstrate the size of the waves with stunning impact, the strong Foot Bridge to Mokuola Island Replaced after the 1946, 1952, and 1957 tsunami, was swept away. All of this damage was due by the third wave.
TO LOG A FIND ON THIS CACHE YOU MUST E-MAIL ME THE CORECT ANSWERS. ANY INCORRECT ANSWERS WILL RESULT IN A DELETED LOG.
To log this Earthcache you must do the following:
When looking at the Coconut Tree Band with the Footage of the 4 Tsunami that hit Hilo. What was the Date and Height of each Tsunami to have hit Hilo? Comparing the Height of the highest wave that hit Mokuola Island. Looking at Hilo Hawaiian Hotel what floor do you estimate it would have taken out?
OPTIONAL: Submit a picture of your self or team next to the Coconut Tree with the Footage Band.
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