Qualla: Umauma Falls https://qualla.com/umauma-falls en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:09 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Umauma Falls https://qualla.com/umauma-falls Umauma Falls: Introduction https://qualla.com/umauma-falls/ Most waterfalls are singular spectacles. Umauma Falls is a three-act play. Located on the Umauma River about 16 miles north of Hilo on Hawaiʻi Island, these three cascades tumble in close succession down a gorge on the eastern flank of Mauna Kea, each dropping into its own plunge pool before the water gathers itself and falls again. They are unique in Hawaiʻi — not for their height or volume, but for this stacked arrangement, a geological accident that reveals how waterfalls are born, how they move, and how they will eventually disappear.

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]]> Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/8/e/9/3/umauma-falls-wp/8e93-umauma-falls-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Umauma Falls: Built by a Volcano, Shaped by Rain https://qualla.com/umauma-falls/ The Umauma River has been carving its channel since Mauna Kea first rose from the sea millions of years ago. As the volcano grew, it laid down alternating layers of lava and volcanic ash, each with different hardness. Water exploits these differences ruthlessly. Where a soft ash ...

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]]> Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/8/e/9/3/umauma-falls-wp/8e93-umauma-falls-built-by-a-volcano-shaped-by-rain.mp3 0:06 2 full Umauma Falls: Waterfalls That Walk https://qualla.com/umauma-falls/ Every waterfall is temporary. Heavy rains send boulders tumbling downstream, and when those boulders plunge over a falls, they hammer the rock at the base, deepening the plunge pool. Over time, the pool undermines the lip of the falls until the rock face collapses. The debris fil...

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]]> Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/8/e/9/3/umauma-falls-wp/8e93-umauma-falls-waterfalls-that-walk.mp3 0:06 3 full Umauma Falls: Hidden in Plain Sight https://qualla.com/umauma-falls/ For most of modern history, the only way to see Umauma Falls was to hike up the riverbed. The surrounding terrain, overgrown with wild guava and abandoned sugarcane, concealed the gorge from anyone who did not know exactly where to look. In 1995, Walter L. Wagner, then developing...

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]]> Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/8/e/9/3/umauma-falls-wp/8e93-umauma-falls-hidden-in-plain-sight.mp3 0:06 4 full Umauma Falls: Three Pools, Three Rhythms https://qualla.com/umauma-falls/ During normal flows, each plunge pool at the base of the three tiers becomes a natural swimming hole — a feature common to waterfalls on Mauna Kea's flanks, where the erosion process reliably scoops out basins deep enough to hold still water. But when the rain intensifies, these ...

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]]> Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/8/e/9/3/umauma-falls-wp/8e93-umauma-falls-three-pools-three-rhythms.mp3 0:06 5 full