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Article: Postcards from the Big Island; The two-lane highway that wraps around Hawaii - the island, not the state - is about 220 miles long. By Midwestern standards, it's a short journey. But that road embraces a continent's worth of geography: massive mountains, the world's most active volcano, wide open grasslands, sandy beaches and verdant rain forest.(TRAVEL)
- Article from:
- Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
- Article date:
- December 6, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Star Tribune Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The plane approached Hawaii - the Big Island - from the north. In the distance, the place looked massive and black, as if it had been forged in fire.
Around it, the Pacific Ocean glittered like pounded silver.
The plane descended, and the landmass became distinct: an endless field of broken black stone. My seatmate leaned over the armrest, peered out the window at the bleak expanse and offered this assessment: "It'll look good in about 200,000 years."
The Big Island is the baby of the Hawaiian chain; it's 1 million years old and still growing. The forces that brought it into being continue to shape it: The volcano Kilauea generates 700,000 cubic ...