Koolaupoko regional ecosystems

Overview

On the Island of O`ahu, at the highest point along the Pali Highway, along the crest of the Ko`olau mountain range, there is a scenic lookout [Pali Lookout] which affords a panoramic view of windward O`ahu. From that vantage point, one can see north up to Moko Li`i, or Chinaman's Hat, a conical-shaped island just off the coast of Kualoa Beach Park in Kane`ohe Bay. The view to the south continues past Mokapu peninsula, across Kailua Bay to the beach at Lanikai. On the left side of this viewing range lies Kaneohe town and to the right lies Kailua town. The Pali Golf course and the City and County's Ho`omaluhia Park ramble along the base of the Ko`olau mountain range below. Down to the right, in front of the view of Kailua town, one can see a grassy green area of open space snuggled between Mt. Olomana and Ulumawao (Oneawa Hills).

Kawai Nui and Kailua seen from the Maunawili Demonstration Trail The triangular spot, which actually spreads out below the hills for a thousand acres, is an area known as Kawai Nui Marsh. The early Hawaiians who named the area had a propensity for naming places after their physical characteristics and this place is no exception. Its full name during pre-European contact days, when pre-historic Hawaiian society was in full flourish, was Kawai Nui Loko, or "the big freshwater pond."

Photo 1.
Kawai Nui and Kailua town beyond from the Maunawili Demonstration Trail (elev. about 800 ft)

The Ko`olau forms the backdrop of Maunawili valley, which contains many streams and springs that feed into Kawai Nui Marsh. This feeder stream drainage system flows into the Marsh today at the measured rate of approximately 6.8 million gallons of water per day, thus helping make Kawai Nui the largest fresh water marsh in the Hawaiian Islands.
However, these were not always the physical conditions that prevailed here. Core samples from underneath Kawai Nui Marsh reveal marine coral and calcium-containing deposits under clays and organic sediments.² These findings indicate that from approximately six thousand to about four thousand years before the present, Kawai Nui was an open marine bay, similar to present day Kane`ohe Bay. Coral sands washed up on the silty beaches along the inland portion of the bay, while the peripheral slopes supported a natural tropical forest. This embayment, having by then become a lagoon with carpeted mud bottom, was existing here when the earliest Polynesian voyagers discovered Hawai`i, about 1500 years before the present. In fact, archaeological and geological evidence from Kawai Nui and nearby areas indicate that O`ahu was one of the earliest areas occupied by these Polynesians, as early as the fourth century A.D.^2,3,4
At that time, an accretion barrier, that would eventually close off the lagoon, was already forming from the north to south ends of the bay on the reef tract. The sand barrier at the makai end (i.e., the ocean side) of the lagoon could have supported coconuts and hala. And the wet plains in the valley would have provided natural garden plots for the newcomers to plant kalo shoots for lo`i farming (i.e., water-terrace taro agriculture). The crops would provide forage for the pigs they had brought with them on their cross-ocean voyages.
Inland from this lagoon were plots suitable for kalo cultivation along the valley streams, as this was their staple food. Lagoon fishes were available for gathering, and offshore deep ocean canoe fishing could have provided aku and alua, favored and plentiful local fishes. Basaltic outcroppings in the immediate vicinity of Kawai Nui could have provided materials for stone tools. Ohi`a trees grew here, and kauila in the valley that could be used to make their `o`o, the only cultivation tool. Coconuts and sweet potatoes for eating, noni for medicine, and kukui to light the night would have been able to grow on the wooded slopes surrounding the lagoon, if forests were removed by controlled burning. Thus, the area was rich in potential resources. It is no wonder that it was among those earliest occupied in Hawai`i.
A description of the marsh as it appears today along it's western edge is provided for a place called Na Pohaku o Hauwahine.

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[ ENTRY: Kailua Watershed ] WATERSHED RING

[ ENTRY: Kailua Bay ] MARINE RING

[KO`OLAU NET] | [AHUPUA`A]

(This page mostly modified from): Diane C. Drigot, IS 489 Environmental Practicum Students, and Muriel B. Seto. 1982. Ho`ona`auao no Kawai Nui (Educating about Kawai Nui). A multi-media educational guide, Chapter 1, pp.1,7.

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	On the Island of O`ahu, at the highest point along the Pali Highway, along the crest of the Ko`olau mountain range, there is a scenic lookout [Pali Lookout] which affords a panoramic view of windward O`ahu. From that vantage point, one can see north up to Moko Li`i, or Chinaman's Hat, a conical-shaped island just off the coast of Kualoa Beach Park in Kane`ohe Bay. The view to the south continues past Mokapu peninsula, across Kailua Bay to the beach at Lanikai. On the left side of this viewing range lies Kaneohe town and to the right lies Kailua town. The Pali Golf course and the City and County's Ho`omaluhia Park ramble along the base of the Ko`olau mountain range below. Down to the right, in front of the view of Kailua town, one can see a grassy green area of open space snuggled between Mt. Olomana and Ulumawao (Oneawa Hills).
		The triangular spot, which actually spreads out below the hills for a thousand acres, is an area known as Kawai Nui Marsh. The early Hawaiians who named the area had a propensity for naming places after their physical characteristics and this place is no exception. Its full name during pre-European contact days, when pre-historic Hawaiian society was in full flourish, was Kawai Nui Loko, or "the big freshwater pond." Photo 1. Kawai Nui and Kailua town beyond from the Maunawili Demonstration Trail (elev. about 800 ft)
	The Ko`olau forms the backdrop of Maunawili valley, which contains many streams and springs that feed into Kawai Nui Marsh. This feeder stream drainage system flows into the Marsh today at the measured rate of approximately 6.8 million gallons of water per day, thus helping make Kawai Nui the largest fresh water marsh in the Hawaiian Islands. However, these were not always the physical conditions that prevailed here. Core samples from underneath Kawai Nui Marsh reveal marine coral and calcium-containing deposits under clays and organic sediments.² These findings indicate that from approximately six thousand to about four thousand years before the present, Kawai Nui was an open marine bay, similar to present day Kane`ohe Bay. Coral sands washed up on the silty beaches along the inland portion of the bay, while the peripheral slopes supported a natural tropical forest. This embayment, having by then become a lagoon with carpeted mud bottom, was existing here when the earliest Polynesian voyagers discovered Hawai`i, about 1500 years before the present. In fact, archaeological and geological evidence from Kawai Nui and nearby areas indicate that O`ahu was one of the earliest areas occupied by these Polynesians, as early as the fourth century A.D.^2,3,4 At that time, an accretion barrier, that would eventually close off the lagoon, was already forming from the north to south ends of the bay on the reef tract. The sand barrier at the makai end (i.e., the ocean side) of the lagoon could have supported coconuts and hala. And the wet plains in the valley would have provided natural garden plots for the newcomers to plant kalo shoots for lo`i farming (i.e., water-terrace taro agriculture). The crops would provide forage for the pigs they had brought with them on their cross-ocean voyages. Inland from this lagoon were plots suitable for kalo cultivation along the valley streams, as this was their staple food. Lagoon fishes were available for gathering, and offshore deep ocean canoe fishing could have provided aku and alua, favored and plentiful local fishes. Basaltic outcroppings in the immediate vicinity of Kawai Nui could have provided materials for stone tools. Ohi`a trees grew here, and kauila in the valley that could be used to make their `o`o, the only cultivation tool. Coconuts and sweet potatoes for eating, noni for medicine, and kukui to light the night would have been able to grow on the wooded slopes surrounding the lagoon, if forests were removed by controlled burning. Thus, the area was rich in potential resources. It is no wonder that it was among those earliest occupied in Hawai`i. A description of the marsh as it appears today along it's western edge is provided for a place called Na Pohaku o Hauwahine.

[PREVIOUS PAGE: Kapa`a Stream] \| [NEXT PAGE: Oneawa Channel]	STREAM RING
[ ENTRY: Kailua Watershed ]	WATERSHED RING
[ ENTRY: Kailua Bay ]	MARINE RING