Hotspot

          As Kayley already told you, the Hawaiian islands are made from the same hotspot as the Aleutian Islands. In this blog post I will give a further explanation of the Hawaiian/u.s.a hotspots.

The Hawaiian Island chain was started around 60 million years ago and still has volcanic grounds on The Big Island. Hawaii was first inhabited sometime around 500 BCE  by  Polynesians. Currently you are most likely to see white people Iike tourists.  

On the north America plate their are four hotspots: Yellow Stone,   Bermuda,  Raton, and Anaheim. Yellow Stone is a National Park that is preparing to erupt  and its going to be big, like HUGE!!! But its not suppose to happen for like 2 million years. Bermuda hotspot is in the middle of the Atlantic and is the reason  for a chain of rises called the Bermuda rises. The Raton Hotspot has been in Arizona and New Mexico and is now currently in New Mexico. The Anaheim hot spot is in central British Columbia in Canada.

The plate tectonics  usually make volcanos at there edges but in some cases ( like Hawaii ) they are in the middle of the plate.  The plate tectonics can affect humans because they cause earthquakes that kill people! They also affect the climate when they shift to cause the land or ocean shift to different positions.   

In the end, I think it is very interesting that nature can fight back and kill us with volcanos and earth quakes! In the next month and a half I hope I can see running lava and build a model to watch it explode! 

Bye!!!

Sarah

  

The Women of Hawaii By Kayley Rolph

Wherever we go in the world, I always wonder about the native belief regarding the women in society. Were women regarded as equal, lesser, or greater than men? How or if they were treated differently than men? These two questions are always something I was curious about in a new place. Hawaii was no different.  The women of Hawaii were unique in their strength and they protected their people in the only ways they could.
 
Before the European invasion, Hawaiian women were kept separate from men. Men and women were not allowed to eat together, or even eat the same food. Women weren't supposed to eat pork or bananas because it was the food of the gods, but men were. That makes me think that women were treated like lesser beings than men. While men fought wars to protect their land, the women taught the next generation how to survive in this world. The jobs of both men and women are of equal importance, the men protect the lives of their people in the present while the women taught the future people how to protect their culture and survive. 
 
One of the most important woman in the history of Hawaii was the Queen Liliuokalani. She was the last queen of Hawaii and the annexation of Hawaii followed her dethroning in 1893. Although she only ruled from 1891 to 1893 Queen Liliuokalani dedicated her life to the independence of Hawaii and the protection of her people. she worked to please the people of Hawaii by looking out for their happiness and independence. I think that it is great that the woman's place in society can change from not being able to eat the same foods as men to ruling them.

 

The women of Hawaii worked hard to protect their people and keep the Hawaiian culture alive. As heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Princess Victoria Ka'iulani visited the United States to help restore the Kingdom of Hawaii. Although she was reluctant to participate in politics, in 1893 she made many speeches and public appearances denouncing the overthrow of her government and the injustice toward her people. They taught the next generation and fought for the preservation of their culture, beliefs and lives of their people. Bye 

By Kayley Sienna Rolph

A Rolph Activities Update By Kayley Rolph

The Rolph's are still at it! We have been working about three hours a day this week and accomplishing a lot. Between surfing, swimming,reading, and writing we have been tearing it up working on the house, literally. We framed the lanai, painted a ton of lumber, reroofed the back part of the house, demolished the back closet/pantry, and cleaned up the hazardus attic.

My dad, Mia and Zander have been painstakingly erecting the lanai for the last few days. Although not quite finished it is exactly what we were looking for. The lanai doesn't obstruct the view and when it is finished it'll be a nice place to hang out if we can keep the bugs away.  

Our roofers, Bob and Hans, while providing much enjoyed entertainment and conversation starters, have been reroofing the backside of the house. The walls are so thin that when Hans makes a remark regarding his body odor we have to suppress our laughter. The old roof, creatively patched and rusted through in some places, when removed, reveled an even more messy attic. 

In the beginning of the week Sarah and I received the disgusting chore of cleaning out afore mentioned rat remains and Styrofoam peanut infested attic. Armed with gloves, a broom, and a dust pan we set to work removing insane amounts of termite and rat remains, Styrofoam peanuts, and... leaves? Don't ask why, it still boggles me that so many leaves (at least three trash bags full) could get in the attic, its supposed to be closed of.

My mom, being the the artist that she is, took over the painting of the new lumber. She decided that painting the lumber before installing it was the easiest way to go about it,  so that's what she has been occupying herself with all week. Since we don't have a paint sprayer, painting is tedious but great for revenge on an unsuspecting little sister. Long story short, Sarah and I had a paint fight on Wednesday and we still haven't been able to get all the paint off.

Friday found Sarah and I gleefully nocking down shelving in the back closet and pantry. Although our parents were planning on salvaging the shelves they are all pretty heavily hammered. It was and good day, ah, fond memories. The shelving was supper simple but was held together by tons of nails, so it took a lot of pounding to get it out.

I am sure the lanai and the rest of the house will be worth all the hard work. Next week we plan on finishing the roofing, including the lanai, and doing some more demo. I will continue to update you on the Rolphs miraculous adventures and powerful progress for foreseeable future. Bye, for now.

By Kayley Sienna Rolph

Snorkling in Keauhou bay by Sarah Rolph

       You can expect a lot from a bay, but I have never expected to find a bay as cool as Keauhou Bay. Keauhou Bay has a sometimes awesome surf break and calm snorkeling waters. It can entertain the interesting people for a life time(on the good days ). In the snorkeling area, I have seen many fishes, corals, and sea urchins.

        In Keauhou Bay, I have seen the Humu Humu Nuku Nuku Apuaʻa, the Yellow Tang, Morish Idol, Orange Pined Tang, Nunu, Lau Hau, Thread Fin Butterfly Ulua, Saddle Wrasse, Lemon Butterfly, Pyramid Butterfly, Ornate Butterfly, Uhu Blue Bollethead. My favorites are the Nunu, Humu Humu Nuku Nuku Apua'a, Uhu, Lau Hau, Threadfin Butterfly and Teardrop Butterfly Fishes. I like them because of their names and how they look. As I have been observing, I noticed, that the fish pecked at the coral to eat the calcium off of them.  

          While swimming around you can see the fishes habitats -coral. In Keauhou Bay, I have seen the Fuzzy Table Coral, Blue Rice Coral, Sandpaper Rice Coral, Rose Atoll Coral, King Man Reef, Lobe Coral, Lace Coral and Rice Coral. Since coral is boring, I'm going to move on to the interesting stuff like perhaps sea urchins.🌴

          Like the fish the sea urchins have been eating away at the coral to make a nice cozy  alcove the that people can step in and get stabbed! During our stay in Hawaii, I have seen 7 different types of urchins. I have seen the Slate Pencel Urchin, Pale Rock-boring Urchin, Black Boring Urchin, Needle Spined Urchin, Blue Black Urchin, Long Spined Urchin and the Baned Urchin. My favorite urchin is the Needle Spined Urchin because they have the sharpest and the longest spinds so its more likely that you will get stabbed and that it will hurt a ton!!!💉

         In the bay, I have seen many wonders and it has made me interested in marine life. After my first trip, I am asking myself simple questions like, what is it like to live as a fish now that we have polluted the ocean so much?  But finally, for the last word come to Hawaii to see the fishes or just google them cause it would be much easier and less tiring!!!🌺

The Basic Geology of Hawaii by Kayley Rolph

Hawaii is known for it's overall awesomeness, but there is much more to Hawaii than good surf and beautiful beaches. The Hawaiian islands are volcanic islands ,as you well know, but they are no where near the edge of a tectonic plate, where most volcanic activity is situated. This was puzzling for the early geologists who studied Hawaii, but they have figured out how the Hawaiian islands formed and explained the basic geology of Hawaii.

The Hawaiian islands are far away from the edge of the Pacific Plate, where most of the volcanic activity is. Tectonic plates are irregular and unpredictable, they have thin spots in the crust and thick spots, they can spontaneously change direction when it collides withe a nearby plate. A hotspot is a weak spot in their earths crust where magma can push to the surface. Since the Pacific Plate is always moving, so is the hotspot. 

 

The Hawaiian islands are all shield volcanoes. The rock that they are made of low viscosity magma or fluid lava. This makes the Hawaiian islands supper wide and not very steep, like a shield. The older Hawaiian islands have been eroded so much that some don't even break the surface of the ocean any more. Since Hawaii is the newest island, it is also the biggest because it hasn't had time to erode as much as the others.
 

If you were to look at a map of the chain of islands created by the Hawaiian hotspot, it looks as though it just started popping up islands in a different directions. The hotspot that created Hawaii also created the Aleutian islands that streach southwest of Alaska and the Emperor Seamounts, which connect the Hawaiian and the Aleutian islands. The pacific plate was moving Southwest at that time but it has changed direction two times to get to its current course of southeast movement. More shield volcanoes are developing southeast of Hawaii and some will break the surface soon.

The Hawaiian island's geology is facinating and unique. I find it amazing that one weak spot in the earths crust could open up an opertunity for three island chains, whole cultures, ecosystems and much, much more. Bye, for now.

By Kayley Sienna Rolph

P.S. I have some diagrams to help illustrate and explain the geology of Hawaii.

Hawaii beaches by Sarah🏄

During our stay here in Kona, Hawaii, we are going to the beach twice a day. Last week we went to 3 beaches: Pine Tree, Keauhou Bay, and White Sand Beach.

          Why is Pine tree beach called Pine Tree if there isn't a single pine tree in sight? Pine Tree is the  best surf spot ever. We go there almost every day. The only problem with the beach are the rocks. While riding the waves, you have to be able to get out of the waves at the right time or you would crash into the rocks. That happened to Kayley on Wednesday, she did not get off of the wave on time so she got run into the rocks and got out with a scraped knee. 

           Down the hill from our house there is Keauhou Bay where you can snorkel. At the bay there are coral reefs and a bunch of very pretty fish. My favorite one is a medium sized bright rainbow fish called the uhu fish. The fish I saw most was a skinny yellow and black fish with a long thin fin that trailed behind it called the moorish idol.

 It was interesting to  watch the tourists go into the water with a bunch of flotation devices cause shouldn't you be able to swim if you're  going snorkeling?  At the bay, there is also a surfboard rental place that all the tourists go to  to go surfing in the bay with an instructor. It is very common to see tourists wearing bright rashgards on rented  soft top long boards riding a tiny wave.  

            Up the street from Keauhou Bay there is the White Sand Beach, that is made of mostly white sand and is a major tourist beach. Based on my experience yesterday, there are a lot of  boys trying and sometimes failing to boogie board big strong beach breakers. Those who were failing got flipped   or pummeled by the waves ( go waves). Also yesterday their was an Asian couple that went into the water with snorkeling gear, a little kid boogie board and a GoPro. Within seconds, they had lost their GoPro and groped the sand in the water for it.  Later when someone found it they ended up without their boogie board or snorkel gear. At least that's what Kayley told me because I was too busy playing in the water.

            My week was awesome because I got to play on the warm pretty water a ton! Next week I hope to find a good surf spot that doesn't bash you into the rocks!!!😈

 

A Rolph Activities Update by Kayley

The Rolphs are at it again!  Daddy bought a house in Kona to fix up as a summer project and an excuse to spend the summer in Hawaii.  The house appears to not have been maintained since its original construction in 1957. So the walls are a little bendy and missing parts as a result of termite damage and rot, the appliances don't really work, and the roof is very leaky. My parents, Mia, Sarah and I have been here for about a week,  and in that week we have made much progress on the house. We trimmed the trees, demolished a bathroom, started redoing the roof and deck,maybe gotten rid of the termites, torn out the carpet.

Because of the jungle that has sprung up around the house, the first three days were alotted to the removal or triming of said jungle. The result of the enthusiastic sawing of tree limbs is an awesome view of the ocean and a power line. The two men who were responsible for the clearing of the view, climbed the trees to get to the branches and resolutely sawed them of with chainsaws. If you are wondering about the sanity of these to tree trimmers you are not alone in that thought. What they were doing was not entirely safe or sane but it worked, it looked fun, and that was the whole point.

The house was crawling with critters ranging from geckoes to termites when we first got it. The geckoes are not a problem because they eat mosquitos! But the termites, on the other hand, are eating everything that is wood, which unfortunately is what the house is made of. So we had the house tented in April but the termites had been there a few decades before we arrived so the damage is extensive. We can see day light through the walls in some places and in one bathroom, the bottom part of the wall isn't even there. We aren't sure if the termites are still here, but, we haven't seen them so thats a good sign. Right?

The bathrooms in this house are pretty moldy and rotted, so we removed one of them! The other two are in use, so we haven't gotten to those yet. Wednesday and Thursday were spent ripping out tile, kicking down showers and sawsalling cabnets to scrap. Destroying the bathroom was gag worthy and surprisingly fun. Nothing like hammering tiles to bits to blow of some steam. The bathroom is still pretty gross but every thing is out in the open at least.

When we ripped out the moldy, splotchy and orange carpet, it was a disgusting experience. We were masked, gloved, and armed with a knife. We had no way of escape, so we just had to get it done. By cutting the carpet into strips and then rolling it up and hauling it out, we were able to free the house of the carpet and the weird smells that accompanied it. Underneath the carpet was concrete and in the living room it was painted green. I think we are planning on putting in tile for the flooring because wood would be eaten and carpet or linoleum would get moldy. 

 Thankfully we don't have to do the roofing, daddy hired Bob and Hans to do that. First they had to stripe the deck of railings and some of the plywood to get to the beams to which they attached the new beams and eventually the roof. They have yet to reroof the whole place. My dad has plans to turn the rotting plywood deck into a lanai with an awesome view of the ocean, which is an awesome idea. If you don't know what a lanai is, it's practically a covered deck.

The house still needs a ton of work, much to Zander's dismay (he was hoping that all the work would be done when he got here from water polo camp at USC). I can't wait to see the end result. next week we hope to finish the roof and the lanai. We may even get to the new bathroom! Sarah and I will continue to fill you in on the magnificent Rolph activities, achievements, and observations with weekly blog posts. Bye.

the magnificent house!!!

By Kayley Sienna Rolph.

Sara doing some demo

view from the deck

remnants of the bathroom

Mia hammering the tile to bits