Time has turned the oldest lava to a soft sand. There are huge mountains. There are also smaller hills that seem to be made of ash or sand. The place is a riot of color.
The Hawaiian silversword has developed over millions of years. It is found in no other place in the world
One big mountain seems to be a deep, dark red. Another area seems almost yellow. Another is green, and still another is a beautiful brown color. One area is colored gray that seems to move into a deep black. It looks as if someone has spilled many colors of paint over the huge area. The volcano produced these colors because the lava is very rich in many kinds of minerals.
SARAH LONG: The area we are seeing stretches for a long distance. This morning, high on the mountain in the bright sun, we can see almost forty kilometers of the park. And this is only part of it. There are eleven thousand five hundred ninety-six hectares of land in the park.
Some of the park is closed to visitors. Scientists do research in those areas. Experts are trying to learn how to grow and protect some of the very unusual plants that live in Haleakala.
One of these plants is called the Silver Sword. It grows only in Hawaii. It has long, thin, silver leaves. It is very beautiful and unusual.
The Hawaiian nene goose also lives here. It is a large bird. Visitors are asked not to come too near the nene. Experts are helping both the Silver Sword plants and the nene geese to reproduce so they will not disappear from the Earth.
最新
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25