Oahu Karst Cave Videos and Photos

by John Bond, Kanehili Cultural Hui

Karst Caves and Underground Karst waterways exist throughout Honolulu - the Southern Oahu shoreline, all Pearl Harbor (Aiea, Navy, Hickam, Pearl City, Waipahu, etc.), aLL of the Ewa Plain and Waianae shoreline.

There is also Karst Caves and water systems along the North Shore and Windward Oahu. A very large Karst Cave in Laie has yielded large amounts of calcite in the form of stalactites and stalagmites and karst cave calcite has been commonly found on beaches- it is a sparkly, milky white mineral.

Legally, no one should be removing these minerals from existing Karst caves.  Visiting the fairly well documented Moiliili karst is potentially dangerous and not recommended - however scientific exploration and documentation is highly encouraged.

There was a major karst cave collapse in Moiliili in the 1930's. Are we just going to wait for the next one to happen?

 Moiliili Karst

City and State government has been nearly completely ignoring future karst collapse, sea level rise, Ala Wai canal pollution (which is only a fraction of the shoreline pollution going on and not mitigated), ground water inundation and other very important water issues- despite existing State Laws, the State Constitution, Public Trust, federal laws and supposed Shoreline Management.

Scientific studies and local shorelines around the Hawaiian Islands are becoming ecological dead zones and more and more fresh water is pumped out or badly polluted and dumped into the ocean. There is a direct connection between fresh, unpolluted water flowing into the ocean and the ecological health of shoreline and the creatures that live there. Like the mass die off of bees, these small shore sea creatures and algae actually play an important role in our island ecological health and sustainability. We are headed toward lifeless desert shorelines right now.

Our City and State government officials come pretty close to criminal negligence by not looking out for the health and welfare of its citizens.  Clean water should be number one on the government agenda as we are living on an island and everything will die without it. We need to look to the Konohiki system of ecological management of our shorelines as the template for our survival.

Pouring concrete into Karst caves and water channels is a sign of a very sick and corrupt government and ultimately will not stop what water intends to do. Properly mitigated, sustainable development is what is needed, not the fast-bucks-and-leave-town-tomorrow mentality that controls our government now.

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Photo and Video Links:

The Moiliili Karst Formation http://explorebiodiversity.com/Hawaii/hikes/Moiliili/cavemap.html

http://explorebiodiversity.com/Hawaii/hikes/Moiliili/caveorganisms.html

Moili'ili Karst Cave Exploration http://www.alohafrom808.com/2012/06/moiliili-karst-cave-exploration-june-2012/ 

Moili'ili Karst Exploration http://notsogreathikingblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/moiliili-karst-exploration.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RrGTMYk5cXI

Moiliili Karst http://easyhikerhawaii.blogspot.com/2012/07/moiliili-karst.html

Mōʻiliʻili Karst (Mōʻiliʻili Water Cave)http://totakeresponsibility.blogspot.com/2012/12/moiliili-karst-moiliili-water-cave.html 

Moiliili Karst http://punynari.wordpress.com/2012/07/15/moiliili-karst/