What on earth is going on - top of hove ? Alien invasion or government secrets ? (Waipio: university, earthquakes)

[Jungjohann]

Looks like HOVE is producing their own substrate for the many miles of road that they self-maintain up there.
AND, it's FRESH!!!!!



Aloha.

(Who likes driving on stale gravel substrate?)

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by hawaiian by heart

I have to agree, the composition of the lava rocks in Hawaii has a high level of metal in it that causes it to rust and crumble fast. Go look at Kauai, all the canyons were solid volcanic rock, also notice the rock is rust colored and crumbles in your hands when you grab it. Thats one reason we have such a bad erosion problem in the islands, they are all made by the same type of lava rock.

Keep in mind that there are many kinds of lava rock in Hawai'i, with many very different characteristics. We have rocks that are so light they float on water, and basaltic bluestone that is so hard and dense it breaks construction equipment.

I attended a lecture in the park one time about the surprising variety of rocks in Hawai'i, comprising 60 different minerals, IIRC, and 17 different forms that molten lava can take. The two kinds all the tourist guides talk about, 'a'a and pahoehoe - rough and pasty looking vs smooth and gloopy looking - are merely two different phases of exactly the same lava, depending on the slope and speed of flow and how fast the surface is cooling.

Anyway, over the millions of years it has taken the Hawaiian islands to form, many different kinds of mineral have been incorporated in the volcanic flow at various times, which gives rise to many kinds of lava, of all colors, with very different characteristics. The crumbly red cinder has iron in it, and is easily crushed because it is so porous. It's inexpensive, and gets used for driveways that are fairly level. Black cinder is a little heavier and a little more expensive, and is used where there's a little slope to a driveway because it stays put better in the rain. Volcanic ash is added to concrete to make it more waterproof, as the Romans did. And the harder basalt is crushed for construction use...

Basalt is used for a wide variety of purposes. It is most commonly crushed for use as an aggregate in construction projects. Crushed basalt is used for road base, concrete aggregate, asphalt pavement aggregate, railroad ballast, filter stone in drain fields and may other purposes. Basalt is also cut into dimension stone. Thin slabs of basalt are cut and sometimes polished for use as floor tiles, building veneer, monuments and other stone objects.

Basalt: Igneous Rock - Pictures, Definition, Uses & More

And here's a humorous note from a geologist with USGS, about the lava flow in Puna burning out the bitumen matrix in an asphalt road, leaving behind the crushed lava aggregate which was then incorporated back into the lava...

More recently, most quarried traprock is crushed for use in asphalt, concrete, and railroad ballast. Crushed traprock makes up about 6 percent of the U.S. crushed stone production and is produced from more than 350 quarries in 28 states.

Hawaii is one of those states; more than 75 percent of the crushed stone produced in Hawaii is traprock (basalt). Think about it. Eventually, the lava flowing over the road in the photograph of pahoehoe will solidify and become the same type of rock that was crushed and used as aggregate in the asphalt pavement that the lava is destroying. How is that for irony?

Carved in Stone | Aggregates Manager

Oh, those geologists! They are such a hoot!

[KauaiHiker]

Originally Posted by winkosmosis

Bing is better because it has oblique aerial photos. It actually does look like they're building a tunnel or something Bing Maps - Driving Directions, Traffic and Road Conditions

Yes they are definitely mining something Bing Maps - Driving Directions, Traffic and Road Conditions

It's not something top secret, otherwise they wouldn't have let Pictometry do the flyovers

THANK YOU for finally solving this! It only took 3 pages to get a good answer.You'd think someone would have access to TMK maps and see who own that property, probably something like Da Big Island Lava Rock Excavators, Inc.

Originally Posted by hawaiian by heart

Whats spooky is they say Molokai used to be a round island, that an event happened and a huge part of her broke and fell into the sea. I have a great documentary on it, if anyones interested its kinda chik'n skin let me know.

Happens on every island. Ni'ihau is not round either. Oahu has a huge debris field out in the ocean, evidence of a huge landslide. Kaua'i has Waimea Canyon perpendicular to the erosion pattern, so it was probably a huge crack that broke but didn't slump/slide into the ocean. All the sea-cliffs of Na Pali on Kaua'i and Molokai are probably catastrophic collapses.

These landslides cause tsunamis and there is evidence of coral rubble and seashels washed up hundreds of feet on some islands. We've covered this topic before to c-d, but it is fascinating. I think I recall seeing some research saying it happens historically every 100,000 years on average. I'll take those odds over a deadly earthquake every 100 years on the San Andreas. But I did buy my house 300 feet in elev and 1 mile inland.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by OpenD

See all the gravel equipment parked around the place? That's where the crush the lava into gravel, then sort the gravel by size to make it easier to pick out the diamonds. They want you to think it's only a gravel company, but that's just their cover.

Originally Posted by KauaiHiker

THANK YOU for finally solving this! It only took 3 pages to get a good answer.

Post #3, actually. Sorry my little added satire threw you. I was just having fun with Mangodog.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

We're off-island right now, but when we get back later this week we can drive up there. Not sure how much we'll be able to see.

Actually, I was going to offer sooner, but everyone was having WAY too much fun with their hypotheses (especially Jungjohann).

[Jungjohann]

But, it really IS the HOVE RMC making their own crusher waste to use on the roads up there. With almost 140 miles of road in the sub-division, it almost makes TOO MUCH sense to do so. And, make it at the top, save fuel driving it all down hill to use it on the roads.

I hate it when I'm almost serious.


Uuurrrppp.....

[mangodog]

So why is it all marked off: No Trespassing" up at all the new gates and fences atop Surf Road, Pineapple Road ?

[mangodog]

They have bulldozed about 50 acres or more up there. No electricity, No water.

[mangodog]

Cannot be an airport in the making up there as there is not enough water to run an operation - Just catchment.

[Due]

Catchment should be enough water if it's only needed for washing and drinking water.

Interesting though.