Hawaii - "the Big Island"

The island memorizes you from the moment of arrival to the moment of departure. 266 miles of dramatic coast line where the lava meets the ocean creating black and white sand beaches, incredible coastal vistas, larger than larger waves and spectacular crashes of ocean against lava. This is the home of surfers, sun lovers and sea turtles. 4000+ square miles of diverse terrain containing 8 of the world's 13 climate zones. Beach dunes with their palm trees, sand and lava meeting at the ocean's edge. Tropical rain forest includes tropical gardens, made up of coconut and banana trees, giant ferns, bamboo groves, a multitude of tropical flowers and beautiful waterfalls. Sub-alpine grasslands containing the northern grazing and ranch lands. Parker Ranch once was the largest ranch in the US. Volcanoes and lava plains made up of multiple volcanoes, calderas, craters, steam vents, lava tubes and lava fields, consume much of the interior. Semi-desert tundra is a combination of a dry climate, lava fields, African grass and Monkey Pod trees. Unique towns dot the 4000 square miles, more than twice the area of the other islands combined. The towns include Kona, Hawi, Waimea and Hilo. These and other towns show off Hawaiians' pride in their history lore, myths, arts and crafts.
The gallery is loosely organized according to the above descriptions.