The Spouting Horn is a natural
lava formation that puts on a
dramatic show. When the
Pacific Ocean waves break against the lava shelf,
water is forced through a hole in the rock
and high into the air, like a
geyser. Another hole in the lava nearby creates a
hissing or moaning sound as
air is forced through it. Together they form a popular
tourist attraction on the
Hawaiian island of
Kauai, on the south shore about halfway
between the cities of Po'ipu and Lawa'i.
Hawaiians have a
legend about the Spouting Horn. The
story says that the coastline was
once guarded by a
fierce giant lizard called Kaikapu who would eat anyone who tried to
go fishing or swimming on her
beach. One day, a
clever fisherman named Liko came to
the beach and was attacked by the
lizard. She chased him down the shore and into the
water, where he swam under the lava shelf through a lava tube. She followed, but he
escaped through the
blowhole while she became trapped. They say her
roar can be heard
in the gasping sound of the Horn to this day.
Perhaps because there is no longer a giant lizard to stop them, locals often go
fishing near this attraction. Additionally, an outdoor
market selling
souveniers and
other items can be found beside the
parking lot for the Spouting Horn. The whole area
was crawling with people when I visited. One can only imagine how popular the site
would be if the other
seaplume were still around.
Beside the Spouting Horn, you can see a large rectangular opening in the lava shelf,
and the
sea churning below. This used to be the Kukuiula Seaplume, which was known to
throw a spray of water 200 feet into the air at times. But in the 1920s, a
sugarcane
company
manager had the blowhole destroyed with blasting powder because
salt spray
from the plume was damaging the
crops on a few
acres of his land. Of all the natural
wonders to be seen on Kauai, I found this to be the most
sobering, with its side by
side displays of the power of
nature and the power of
man.
Sources:
The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook, 4th Edition. Wizard Publications, Inc.
http://www.hawaiiweb.com/kauai/html/sites/spouting_horn.html