Mauna Kea
Mauna Kea is an ancient volcano in Hawaii, the highest point of islands with a height of 4205 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 Everest, if measured from the very foot of the mountain.
The name of the mountain translates as "White Mountain" and it is a mountain sacred to the Hawaiians. Only tribal leaders and people close to them can visit the peak. This is a very ancient volcano over 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 in forests in which local mined food for themselves. With the advent of Europeans, pets began to walk along the slopes of the mountains, which, together with the extraction of sugar, brought quite severe harm 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, 13 telescopes have been built here by representatives from 11 countries, which causes irritation among local peoples, since they consider it sacred.
At the top of Mauna Kea there is very strong solar radiation, and the average temperature is less than zero, so only low perennials survive there. Nevertheless, the wolf spider manages to survive here, and also here in the cracks of the stones the butterfly "Forest Handkerchief" is hidden". At medium altitudes, legumes grow, found only in the Hawaiian Islands. Nowadays, legumes occupy an area of 212 km2 and are located in the protected area, before they occupied a 10-fold large area. Below 2 km you can find 8 species of birds and 12 species of plants that are on the verge of extinction.
Mauna Kea is a very popular place among tourists, over 100,000 people visit it in a year. For travelers paved the road, but to climb it you need a powerful SUV. In winter, a dense snow cover forms on Mount Mauna Kea, so many mountain visitors ski here. The routes are laid without going to the top, since there the wind speed reaches 110 km / h.
