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| Keywords: Waimea Canyon, Kaua'i, Image of the Day DVIDS856257.jpg en Waimea Canyon is a spectacular gorge on the island of Kaua'i Roughly 3 600 feet 1 097 meters deep and 10 miles 16 kilometers long it is one of the most scenic regions of the Hawai'ian islands The canyon has a unique geologic history -- it was formed not only by the steady process of erosion but also by a catastrophic collapse of the volcano that created Kaua'i Like the other Hawai'ian islands Kaua'i is the top of an enormous volcano rising from the ocean floor With lava flows dated to about 5 million years ago Kaua'i is the oldest of the large Hawai'ian islands Roughly 4 million years ago while Kaua'i was still erupting almost continuously a portion of the island collapsed This collapse formed a depression which then filled with lava flows In the time since rainwater from the slopes of Mount Wai'ale'ale one of the wettest spots on Earth with 450 inches of rain a year have eroded Waimea Canyon along one edge of the collapse The cliffs on the west side of the canyon are composed of thin lava flows that ran down the surface of the Kaua'i volcano On the other side of the canyon the cliff walls are built from thick lava flows that pooled in the depression Over time the exposed basalt a type of rock formed from lava has weathered from its original black to brilliant red This image was acquired on December 26 2000 by the Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus instrument aboard NASA's landsat gsfc nasa gov/ Landsat 7 satellite NASA Identifier kauai_etm_2000361 2011-06-30 Glenn Research Center https //www dvidshub net/image/856257 856257 2013-02-08 18 55 WASHINGTON D C US PD-USGov Waimea Canyon Images from DoD uploaded by Fæ | ||||
