Spouting Horn

Natural Wonder with Ancient Legend

Description

This blow hole, like many others in Hawaii, is the result of a hole in a lava shelf on the shoreline that causes spectacular columns of spray to erupt when waves hit it. What makes this blow hole special is that an adjacent blow hole does not blow spray; instead, air forced through the hole produces an eerily beautiful horn-like sound. The Hawaiian legend about this spot is far more interesting: apparently a lizard-like sea monster called a mo'o lived here and devoured anything that entered the sea. One day a warrior named Liko entered the water, and when the mo'o attacked him, he escaped by swimming under the lava shelf and wriggling up out of the blow hole. The mo'o got stuck, and the sounds the blow hole makes are his groans. Signs warning that you should keep well away from the powerful blow hole are best heeded.