Mauna Kea

Mauna Kea is an ancient volcano in Hawaii, which is the highest point of the islands with a height of 4,205 meters. But this is only the surface part, together with the underwater part, its height is approximately 10,203 meters. This makes the volcano even higher than Mount Everest, if measured from the very foot of the mountain.

The name of the mountain translates as "White Mountain" and it is a sacred mountain for the Hawaiians. Only tribal leaders and people close to them can visit the peak. This is a very ancient volcano more than a million years old, but the most active years of eruptions have long passed, and the last eruption was almost 5 thousand years ago. Over the years, Mauna Kea has been covered with forests, in which the locals foraged for food for themselves. With the arrival of the Europeans, pets began to walk along the mountain slopes, which, along with the extraction of sugar, caused quite severe damage to the environment.

Mount Mauna Kea is a great place for astronomical observations due to the large number of sunny days and proximity to the equator. At the moment, representatives from 11 countries have built 13 telescopes here, which irritates the local peoples, since they consider it sacred.

There is very strong solar radiation at the top of Mauna Kea, and the average temperature is below zero, so only low perennials survive there. Nevertheless, the wolf spider manages to survive here, and the Forest Handkerchief butterfly also hides in the cracks of the stones. Bean trees, found only on the Hawaiian Islands, grow at medium altitudes. Nowadays, bean trees occupy an area of 212 km2 and are located in a protected area, previously they occupied 10 times the area. Below 2 km, you can find 8 species of birds and 12 varieties of plants that are on the verge of extinction.

Mauna Kea is a very popular tourist destination, with over 100,000 visitors per year. A road has been paved for travelers, but a powerful off-road vehicle is needed to climb it. In winter, dense snow cover forms on Mount Mauna Kea, so many visitors to the mountain ski here. The routes are laid without going to the top, as there the wind speed reaches 110 km/h.