Gardner Pinnacles

The guano-coated Gardner Pinnacles.
Map showing the location of the Gardner Pinnacles in the Hawaiian island chain.
Map of the Gardner Pinnacles

The Gardner Pinnacles (Hawaiian: Pūhāhonu) are two barren rock outcrops surrounded by a reef and located in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

The Pūhāhonu volcano responsible for the pinnacles is 511 nautical miles (946 km; 588 mi) northwest of Honolulu and 108 miles (94 nmi; 174 km) from French Frigate Shoals. The total area of the two small islets, remnants of an ancient shield volcano, the world's largest, is 5.939 acres (24,030 m2).[1] The highest peak is 170 feet (52 meters).[2][a] The surrounding reef has an area in excess of 1,904 square kilometres (470,000 acres; 735 sq mi).[3]

The Gardner Pinnacles were discovered and named in 1820 by the whaling ship Maro.[4] The island may be the last remnant of one of the largest volcanoes on Earth.[5] It holds the record for the largest and hottest shield volcano.[2][b]

  1. ^ Giuliani-Hoffman, Francesca. "The largest volcano in the world sits beneath two small rocky peaks in Hawaii". CNN. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Garcia, Michael O.; Tree, Jonathan P.; Wessel, Paul; Smith, John R. (July 15, 2020). "Pūhāhonu: Earth's biggest and hottest shield volcano". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 542: 116296. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116296. ISSN 0012-821X.
  3. ^ Gardner Pinnacles - Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge. U.S Fish and Wildlife Service. December 14, 2016
  4. ^ Mark J. Rauzon (2001). Isles of Refuge: Wildlife and History of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 95–. ISBN 978-0-8248-2330-6.
  5. ^ "SOEST researchers reveal largest and hottest shield volcano on Earth".


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