Shrinking Waikiki Beach – Honolulu, Hawaii

Speaking of Diamond Head, which I mentioned in passing yesterday, here’s the view of the famous extinct crater from Waikiki Beach.

This was a shocking scene for me. Shot on the first day of my Hawaii visit this year. Notice how frighteningly close the water is to the edge of the building? It wasn’t this way a few years ago. A lot has changed within the decade of my visits.

A few of the palm trees were cut down, no doubt killed by the encroaching ocean. I noticed water damage to the building too. I’m guessing that this was high tide. However, it was no longer possible to walk on dry land to get past this area of the beach.

Many parts of Waikiki Beach still have considerable frontage. Thus the erosion is not uniform. I learned that this famous beach is primarily man-made. They have to truck in a lot of sand from time to time. Given the pace of erosion, I wonder about the future of this popular tourist destination.

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