Stretching east from the pass is a long valley pocked with ultramarine lakes, watched over by sheer walls of striated granite that are striped with the wispy white of flowing waterfalls.
Besides being deep and hot to handle, the metallic structures are dense and heavy, yet fragile, striated with fractures that the researchers feared would cause them to crumble like dry cake before they reached the surface.
This gigantic chasm at the heart of Kaua'i is one of the island's greatest natural wonders, and its red-and-black-striated lava-rock walls contrasted with the lush green forests that blanket its top is a true sight to behold.