Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The endangered Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) are one of the iconic creatures protected ...
[+] within the confines Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in Hawaii. (Photo by: Education Images) Universal Images Group via Getty Images Calling all travel trivia buffs — see if you can answer the following questions: 1. What’s the largest U.
S. national park as well as one of the biggest in the world? 2. What U.
S. national park was the scene of a major battle that turned the tide of World War Two? 3. What U.
S. national park boasts the most wildlife species? 4. Which U.
S. national park is off limits to anyone who doesn’t have special permission to visit? The answer to all four of those questions is the same: Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in Hawaii. Most people have never heard of this massive, protected area that sprawls across the western half of the Hawaiian Islands chain.
And even fewer can probably pronounce it correctly. The name Papahānaumokuākea honors two legendary Hawaiian ancestors – the earth mother goddess Papahānaumoku and her husband, the sky god Wākea. According to the Hawaiian creation story, they created the islands and their native people, as well as the first taro plant.
Established in 2006 and signed into being by President Bush, the reserve is jointly managed by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (US.