According to geologists, Oahu, the second oldest of the Hawaiian Islands, was formed three to four million years ago by deep-sea volcanic activity. For forty to fifty thousand years, the violent eruptions and melting hot lava worked their magic to create one of the most beautiful, recognizable and alluring island chains in the world. The beauty of Oahu, like the other islands, has evolved over the last few million years, as Mother Nature has molded the island’s landscape into what many consider perfection with wind, rain, sunshine and ocean storms.
Aside from stunning natural beauty, the volcanoes that created Oahu and the other Hawaiian Islands also formed one of the youngest and most geographically remote places on the planet. It’s just one more reason this place is so appealing! Want to get away from it all? Just come to Hawaii! When people began landing on Hawaii’s shores roughly 1500 years ago, the islands changed even more dramatically as these new residents brought vegetation from their island homes, new activity and human culture to what had been a land with very few native species of its own. Since Hawaii is so remote – it’s a 5 hour flight to the nearest inhabited place – it’s not surprising that the islands weren’t teeming with life before people arrived. Four-legged animals couldn’t get here on their own. The wind couldn’t carry seeds from flowers and plants thousands of miles. Birds that could fly the distance would have dropped anything they might have carried. It even took the Polynesians, the first people to come to Hawaii, decades to sail successfully to these islands. But once they did, they and those who came after them, brought plants, fruits and flowers that are innately associated with Hawaii today, things like pineapple, guava, and plumeria.
Today, the volcanoes that formed Oahu are extinct, but the mountains, valleys and beaches that they created are on full display. Two mountain ranges, remnants of the volcanoes that created the island, run parallel to each other through the middle of Oahu. The Koolau mountain range to the east and the Waianae mountain range to the west. These mountains separate the lush, green Windward side of the island (to the east) from the hotter, drier Leeward side, and they are unlike any mountains you’ve probably ever seen. Steep, almost vertical mountain faces, covered in green foliage, streaming with waterfalls when it rains, and located just a couple hundred feet from the ocean in some places. A drive along Oahu’s Windward or Leeward coasts will put you right between these mountains and the deep blue water of the Pacific Ocean. And it will take your breath away!
Unless you bring a geologist with you, it’s hard to determine how old Oahu is. However, the island’s unique geography and incredible beauty are front and center no matter where you’re standing, walking, driving, hiking, riding or paddling!