Posted
on November 26, 2013
In
1778, James Cook was already a well known British explorer,
navigator, mapmaker, and captain in the Royal Navy.
He
had already surveyed and mapped the entrance to the Saint Lawrence
River in Canada, and he had led an expedition to record the Venus
Transit from the Pacific island of Tahiti.
He had mapped out the
coast of New Zealand, become the first European to explore the east
coast of Australia, and had claimed for England islands such as South
Georgia and “Sandwich Land.”
He had searched and searched the
South Pacific for the hypothetical Terra Australis that many scholars
thought MUST exist to balance out in the Southern Hemisphere all the
landmass in the Northern Hemisphere. (Cook and others before him had
“discovered” Australia, but it wasn't large enough to qualify for
what scholars believed must be there.) Cook was able to firmly
establish that there was no such huge southern landmass.
And
then there was Cook's third and last Pacific expedition. He was
supposed to seek for a Northwest Passage—the long-hoped-for and
expected way to sail from Europe to Asia, without having that pesky
North American continent in the way.
On
his way northward through the Pacific Ocean, in January of 1778, Cook
became the first European to see the Hawaiian Islands. Afterwards he
successfully explored and mapped the western coast of North America,
from Oregon to Canada to Alaska. When he returned to the Hawaiian
Islands, he may have been thought to be a god named Lono—although when he returned to the islands for repairs he and his men quarreled and fought with the Hawaiians. During one of these fights, attack, Cook was killed.
Although
Cook saw Maui on this date in 1778, he didn't land on the island,
because he couldn't find a good harbor. Here's what he missed:
Haleakala
is a dormant volcano, and when you stand at the top and look into
the crater, you can often see swirls of subtle colors on the cinder
cones inside...unless you are lucky enough to see clouds inside the crater!
Pools
of 'Ohe'o (once called the Seven Sacred Pools) are a series of pools
connected by waterfalls. People love to take a dip in these pools!
Waterfalls.
Lots of waterfalls. These days, the road to the Pools of 'Ohe'o and
Hana features a waterfall practically at every turn. Each one more
lovely than the last. It took a long time for us to get to Hana,
because we spent so much time looking and photographing and even
hiking to waterfalls and the jewel-like pools below them!
Iao
Needle, a sudden, unexpected ridge covered with greenery. This lava
remnant rises 1,200 feet (370 m) from the valley floor. It looks
like a spire (or needle) when the ridge is viewed end-on.
Also
on this date:
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Plan
Ahead:
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