Waikōloa Stream
| Waikōloa Stream | ||
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| Data | ||
| location | Hawaii (island) | |
| River system | Waiʻulaʻula Stream | |
| source | at Puʻu Iki 20 ° 3 ′ 1 ″ N , 155 ° 40 ′ 27 ″ W. |
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| Source height | approx. 1250 m | |
| confluence | with the Keanuʻiʻomanō Stream to the Waiʻulaʻula Stream Coordinates: 20 ° 1 '2 " N , 155 ° 45' 46" W 20 ° 1 '2 " N , 155 ° 45' 46" W
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The Waikōloa Stream ( German also Waikoloa ) is the most important watercourse on the southern slope of the Kohala in the northwest of the Big Island in the state of Hawaii .
It rises at an altitude of around 1250 meters on the Pu'u Iki , on its upper reaches there are numerous structures for water regulation and irrigation of the arid highlands around Waimea . As a result, from the region near Weiaka it only carries water periodically. It flows here at a distance of usually less than 500 meters parallel to the south of the Keanuʻiʻomanō Stream , with which it joins about 7 kilometers before the confluence south of Kawaihae into the Pacific to form the Waiʻulaʻula Stream .
Flora and fauna
The river, the total length of which from the source to the mouth in the Pacific Ocean is only around 30 kilometers long and overcomes a gradient of more than 1200 meters on this route, mostly flows over steps formed from the cooled lava of the Kohala or Mauna Kea from. There are only a few smaller pools, the characteristic plant of which is the common pond rush ( Schoenoplectus lacustris ), the banks are partly made up of dense undergrowth of Brazilian pepper tree ( Schinus terebinthifolius ). Otherwise, due to the low rainfall in the rain shadow of the Kohala , the area around the river is characterized by extensive grassland , which is used for cattle breeding .
The fauna is - due to the periodicity of the river and its short length - rather poor in species. The river is home and breeding area of 12 species of dragonflies , which is an indicator of the good water quality, and other insects bound to the water, such as mayflies , have also been detected. Molluscs and crustaceans could not be found, the vertebrates are represented in the middle and lower reaches exclusively by guppies ( Poecilia reticulata ) that have been exposed to humans . In the upper reaches of resources are hi'ukole'O'opu or'O'opu alamo'o ( Lentipes concolor ), an endemic species of the family of gobies detected.