Editing Gardner Pinnacles

{{Short description|Two barren outcrops in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands}}
{{use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
[[File:gardnerpinnacles.jpg|thumb|400px|The [[guano]]-coated Gardner Pinnacles.]]
[[File:Hawaiianislandchain_USGS.png|thumb|upright=1.3|Map showing the location of the Gardner Pinnacles in the [[Hawaiian Islands|Hawaiian island chain]].]]
[[File:Gardner map lrg.gif|thumb|Map of the Gardner Pinnacles]]
The '''Gardner Pinnacles''' ({{langx|haw|Pūhāhonu}}) are two barren [[Rock formations in the United States|rock]] outcrops surrounded by a reef and located in the [[Northwestern Hawaiian Islands]].

The '''Pūhāhonu volcano''' responsible for the pinnacles is {{convert|511|nmi|km mi|0|lk=on}} northwest of [[Honolulu, Hawaii|Honolulu]] and {{convert|108|mi|nmi km}} from [[French Frigate Shoals]]. The total area of the two small islets, remnants of an ancient [[shield volcano]], the world's largest, is {{convert|5.939|acre|m2}}.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The largest volcano in the world sits beneath two small rocky peaks in Hawaii|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/25/us/puhahonu-largest-volcano-trnd-scn/index.html|first=Francesca |last=Giuliani-Hoffman|website=CNN|access-date=2020-05-26}}</ref> The highest peak is {{convert|170|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}}.<ref name=Garcia2020/>{{efn|name=I|Garcia et. al. 2020{{rp|loc=1. Introduction}}}} The surrounding reef has an area in excess of {{convert|1,904|km2|acre sqmi}}.<ref name="FWS">[https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Hawaiian_Islands/about/Gardner_Pinnacles.html Gardner Pinnacles - Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge]. U.S Fish and Wildlife Service. December 14, 2016</ref>

The Gardner Pinnacles were discovered and named in 1820 by the [[whaling ship]] ''Maro''.<ref name="Rauzon2001">{{cite book|author=Mark J. Rauzon|title=Isles of Refuge: Wildlife and History of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Liof5xfsCM8C&pg=PA95|year=2001|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0-8248-2330-6|pages=95–}}</ref> The island may be the last remnant of one of the largest volcanoes on Earth.<ref name="soest.hawaii.edu">{{Cite web|url=https://www.soest.hawaii.edu/soestwp/announce/news/uh-researchers-reveal-largest-and-hottest-shield-volcano-on-earth/|title=SOEST researchers reveal largest and hottest shield volcano on Earth}}</ref> It holds the record for the largest and hottest [[shield volcano]].<ref name=Garcia2020>{{Cite journal |last1=Garcia |first1=Michael O. |last2=Tree |first2=Jonathan P. |last3=Wessel |first3=Paul |last4=Smith |first4=John R. |date=2020-07-15 |title=Pūhāhonu: Earth's biggest and hottest shield volcano |journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters |language=en |volume=542 |pages=116296 |doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116296 |issn=0012-821X|doi-access=free }}</ref>{{efn|Garcia et. al. 2020{{rp|loc=Abstract}}}}

==History==
[[File:Log of the Kaalokai. (1909) (14592257528).jpg|thumb|A drawing of the Gardner Pinnacles in 1909|left]] 
The Gardner Pinnacles were first discovered on June 2, 1820, by the American [[whaler]] ''Maro,'' commanded by Captain Joseph Allen.<ref name="Rauzon2001"/>

In 1859, the position of the Gardner Pinnacles was determined by the survey schooner [[USS Fenimore Cooper (1853)|USS ''Fenimore Cooper'']].<ref name="Clapp 1972 pp. 1–25">{{cite journal |last=Clapp |first=Roger B. |title=The natural history of Gardner Pinnacles, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands |journal=Atoll Research Bulletin |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |volume=163 |year=1972 |issn=0077-5630 |doi=10.5479/si.00775630.163.1 |pages=1–25 |oclc=887851}}</ref>

The Gardner Pinnacles are home to the giant [[Cellana|opihi]] (''[[Cellana talcosa]]''), a limpet known in [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] as the {{lang|haw|‘opihi ko‘ele}}, which is not found anywhere else in the world outside the Hawaiian Islands.<ref name="FWS"/> Numerous insects live on the island.<ref name="FWS"/><ref>[https://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/visit/gardner.html Gardner Pinnacles (Pūhāhonu)] Papahānaumokuākea (Northwestern Hawaiian Islands) Marine National Monument</ref>

In 1903 the Gardner Pinnacles became a part of the Hawaiian Islands Bird Reservation.<ref name="Clapp 1972 pp. 1–25"/> In 1940 it became a part of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://georgehbalazs.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/GARDNER-PINNACLES_ARB_|title=RogerClapp.pdf}}</ref> In the 21st century it is part of [[Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument]] wildlife refuge.<ref name=Garcia2020/>{{efn|name=I}}

The Gardner Pinnacles were used as an emergency helicopter landing spot for the Hawaiian HIRAN project, an effort to determine the locations of area islands with great precision for navigational purposes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=King |first1=Warren B. |date=March 1973 |title=Conservation Status of Birds of Central Pacific Islands |journal=The Wilson Bulletin |volume=85 |issue=1 |pages=89–103 |publisher=Wilson Ornithological Society |jstor=4160286 }}</ref> In the Hawaiian Archipelago, adjacent islands/reefs are [[French Frigate Shoals]] to the southeast, and [[Maro Reef]] to the northwest.

==Geology==
[[File:Starr 990524-0854 Portulaca lutea.jpg|thumb|Gardner Pinnacles]]
[[File:Starr 990524-0853 Portulaca lutea.jpg|thumb|Gardner]]

The island is made up of [[basalt]] rock,<ref name="Clapp 1972 pp. 1–25"/> which comes from lava erupted between 14 and 12 million years ago.<ref name=Garcia2020/>{{efn|name=C|Garcia et. al. 2020{{rp|loc=Conclusion}}}} The rock is dark grey and dense,<ref name="Clapp 1972 pp. 1–25"/> and has a high [[forsterite]] content implying the [[magma]] source was at {{convert|1703|±|56|C|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Garcia2020/>{{efn|Garcia et. al. 2020{{rp|loc=4.3. What caused Pūhāhonu's large volume?}}}}

According to a 2020 report in ''[[Earth and Planetary Science Letters]]'',  Pūhāhonu contains approximately {{convert|150000|km3}} of rock, based on a 2014 sonar survey.<ref name=Garcia2020/>{{efn|name=size|Garcia et. al. 2020{{rp|loc=4.2. How massive is Pūhāhonu?}}}} This would make it Earth's largest single volcano. Only about one-third of that volume is exposed above the sea floor while the rest is buried beneath a ring of debris, broken coral, and other material that has eroded from the peak. By comparison, from sea floor to peak, [[Mauna Kea]], on Hawaii's Big Island, is the tallest [[shield volcano]] on Earth, but it is nowhere near as massive as Pūhāhonu. Another volcano on the Big Island is [[Mauna Loa]]; a 2013 study estimates Mauna Loa's volume at {{convert|83000|km3}} which is believed to be an overestimate.<ref name=Garcia2020/>{{efn|name=size}} Pūhāhonu is so heavy, researchers note, that it has caused Earth's crust nearby—and thus the volcano itself—to sink hundreds of meters over millions of years.<ref name="Science">{{Cite web |last=Perkins |first=Sid |date=2020-05-12 |title=World's biggest volcano is barely visible |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/world-s-biggest-volcano-barely-visible |access-date=2022-05-05 |website=Science |language=en}}</ref> The Puhahonu volcano (Gardner) would be twice as big as Mauna Loa's based on that research.<ref name="soest.hawaii.edu"/> {{efn|The [[Tamu Massif]], a 4-kilometer-tall volcanic feature the size of the British Isles on the sea floor east of Japan, contains almost 7 million cubic kilometers of material and was once thought to be the world's largest shield volcano. But Tamu Massif is now believed to have formed along a [[mid-ocean ridge]] rather than over a single source of magma. That makes Pūhāhonu the largest known shield volcano on Earth.<ref name="Science"/>}}

The Pūhāhonu and West Pūhāhonu volcanoes result from the [[Hawaii hotspot]] which is fed by the Hawaiian plume which had a major magmatic flux pulse at the time.<ref name=Garcia2020/>{{efn|name=C}} A longer magmatic flux pulse produced the Hawaiian Islands.<ref name=Garcia2020/>{{efn|name=C}} The five seamounts of the Naifeh Chain to the north of Pūhāhonu have a completely different tectonic origin, and are older ([[Late Cretaceous]]).<ref name=Sotomayor2023>{{cite journal|last1 =Sotomayor|first1 =A.|last2 =Balbas|first2 =A.|last3 =Konrad|first3 =K.|last4 =Koppers| first4 =A. A.|last5 =Konter|first5 =J. G.|last6 =Wanless| first6 =V. D.|last7 =Hourigan|first7 =T. F.|last8 =Kelley|first8 =C.|last9 =Raineault|first9= N.|title =New insights into the age and origin of two small Cretaceous seamount chains proximal to the Northwestern Hawaiian Ridge|journal =Geosphere|year =2023|volume =19|issue =2|pages =383–405|doi =10.1130/GES02580.1|doi-access =free}}</ref> At one time they were hypothesised to be related to the Pūhāhonu volcano because of arch volcanism, which can not be the case, given the newly determined age difference.<ref name=Sotomayor2023/>

==Ecology==
The island has one plant known to grow on it, the succulent [[Sesuvium portulacastrum|sea purslane]].<ref name="papahanaumokuakea.gov">{{Cite web|url=https://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/visit/gardner.html|title=Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument|website=www.papahanaumokuakea.gov}}</ref> However, there are over a dozen species of bird observed here, many nesting.<ref name="papahanaumokuakea.gov"/> There is also a variety of insect species on the island.<ref name="papahanaumokuakea.gov"/>

In the surrounding waters there is a variety of sealife, which is noted as habitat for a limpet, the giant ophi which lives in tidal areas of the rocky island.<ref name="papahanaumokuakea.gov"/> There are many species of fish and coral life in the nearby waters.<ref name="papahanaumokuakea.gov"/>

The large numbers of birds have coated many surfaces of the island in [[guano]], giving it a whitish appearance.<ref name="Clapp 1972 pp. 1–25"/>

Some of the fish species in the nearby waters include [[Ember parrotfish|red lip parrotfish]], doublebar [[goatfish]], and [[reef triggerfish]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Hawaiian_Islands/about/Gardner_Pinnacles.html|title = Gardner Pinnacles - Hawaiian Islands - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service}}</ref>

==Name==

The name Gardner comes from its discovery in 1820, when the Captain Joseph Allen of the ship ''Maro'' named it Gardner's Island.<ref name="papahanaumokuakea.gov"/> They also discovered [[Maro Reef]], which is named for that sailing ship.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/visit/maro.html|title=Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument|website=www.papahanaumokuakea.gov}}</ref>

It has sometimes been called Gardner Rock or Gardner Island, besides the Gardner Pinnacles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/logofkaalokai00walk/logofkaalokai00walk#page/n35/mode/1up|title = Log of the Kaalokai|year = 1909}}</ref>

The Hawaiian name, ''Pūhāhonu'', means 'turtle surfacing for air', from ''pūhā'' 'to breathe at the surface' and ''honu'' 'turtle'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wehewehe.org/gsdl2.85/cgi-bin/hdict?a=q&r=1&hs=1&m=-1&o=-1&qto=4&e=d-11000-00---off-0hdict--00-1----0-10-0---0---0direct-10-ED--4--textpukuielbert%252ctextmamaka-----0-1l--11-haw-Zz-1---Zz-1-home-puhahonu--00-4-1-00-0--4----0-0-11-00-0utfZz-8-00&q=P%C5%ABh%C4%81honu&fqv=textpukuielbert%252ctextmamaka&af=1&fqf=ED|title=Nā Puke Wehewehe ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi|website=wehewehe.org}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of volcanoes in the Hawaiian – Emperor seamount chain]]
*[[Nikumaroro]] (aka Gardner Island)

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.janeresture.com/gardner_pinnacles/ Gardner Pinnacles] Islands of the Hawaiian Chain
*[http://www.bishopmuseum.org/research/nwhi/gardner.html Gardner Pinnacles Page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402214113/http://www.bishopmuseum.org/research/nwhi/gardner.html |date=April 2, 2012 }} ~ [[Bishop Museum]]
*[https://www.pbs.org/kqed/oceanadventures/episodes/kure/diaries/gardner.html Quick Facts on the Gardner Pinnacles] – from the [[PBS Ocean Adventures]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110903082931/http://pmnmims.org/ Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Information Management System]
*[https://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/visit/gardner.html Gardner Pinnacles (Pūhāhonu)]
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[[Category:Northwestern Hawaiian Islands]]
[[Category:Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain]]
[[Category:Rock formations of Hawaii]]
[[Category:Miocene volcanoes]]
[[Category:Paleogene Oceania]]
[[Category:Cenozoic Hawaii]]
[[Category:Stacks of the United States]]
[[Category:Important Bird Areas of Hawaii]]