236 HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 
view. The precipitous front is vertically fluted by narrow gorges, some 
of which are abrupt winding ravines of great depth. Below the preci- 
VIEW OF PART OF THE KOOLAU PRECIPICE. 
pice, there is only a narrow strip of land, varying in width from half 
a mile to two and a half miles,—a small extent compared with the 
length of the southern slopes. ‘The view of this mountain wall is one 
of the most remarkable in the Pacific. Its lofty front might in other 
regions be cliffs of bare rock, but in these tropical climes, the rocks 
are only here and there distinguished through the dark verdure, and 
no talus of fallen fragments hes at its base. From the Pali, the mural 
heights, the almost inaccessible pass below, and the plantations, vil- 
lages, and bay of Kaneohe, make a scene of unusual grandeur and 
beauty. 
We may add a few more particulars respecting the valleys and 
ridges of this mountain range. The valleys seem to the explorer like 
passages to the very heart of the mountain. ‘They are entered not far 
from the shore, and are at first of considerable breadth; but, a short 
distance in, they become narrow gorges; the stream has barely 
room to leap and dash along its rocky bed, while the ridges on 
either side are several hundred feet in elevation. Continuing on, 
many a cascade appears in view playing amid the verdure of the de- 
clivities, and the shifting scenes afford constant delight and surprise. 
At last the valley is suddenly closed to farther progress, for it ceases 
abruptly against a bluff wall, the very midrib of the mountain. On 
the north coast, near Laiée, there is a narrow gorge which has already 
become a place of much resort for the grandeur of its scenery, its 
shaded recesses, its lofty walls, and the cascade that pours down the 
precipice at its head. A few valleys are broad expanded plains even 
