More Wetlands Pics - Let's Keep Some Balance As Our National Soap Opera Unfolds

So there's a point on the boardwalk at Kealia Pond National Wildlife Reserve, where the pond opens out toward the ocean.  But there's a mound of sand that blocks the pond water from just draining out.  Or the sea water from pouring in.



Here's what the sign says about this spot.



















If you click on it, you should be able to read it clearly.  But here are the important points:

"Here Kealia Pond is trapped by a sand plug that separates pond and bay.  When the pond is at its peak, the plug is breached and water flows through both ways.  Hawaiians noticed the abundant life in the ponds connected to the sea.  They enhanced this connection in their fishponds, raosing fish, snails, shrimp, and seaweed for food."

As you can see, the pond isn't likely to breach the plug any time soon.  But the surf manages to.  The top picture the sand is dry.  Here are some other pictures when the surf breaches the plug.

Here you can see ripples caused by the sea water entering the pond.

Today when I was there, the surf was higher than earlier and so water is coming in from the sea.  But there was also a breeze from the pond side so there are ripples on the pond water toward the plug.