The island of Oahu is divided into four main coastlines North (North Shore), South, East (leeward side), and West (windward). They differ in many ways like temp, humidity, physical demographics, age, etc… Because of these reasons each of these four coastlines are unique in their own way.
The northern coastline of Oahu, also known as the north shore, is an avid surfers paradise. The north shore is the part of the island that take the brunt of the biggest winter storm energy. When huge winter storms occur up in the arctic the energy is dispersed throughout the pacific, and the north shore is directly in that path. The storms energy causes huge swells that migrate across the ocean. When the near the north shore the start to build into waves, because of the shallow waters of the north shore. The shallow water are due to the coral reefs that expand the shorelines.
The southern shore of Oahu is where most of the tourism occurs. This factor alone has changed the geography of many beaches on the south shore. Tourists love big sandy beaches. Well in Hawaii sand is pumped in or shipped in to keep the tourists happy. Naturally sand comes and goes depending on the time of year. Generally in the summer there would be more sand compared to the winter. This is due to large winter storms wiping the sand away. Now this natural phenomenon does not occur because all the results pay money to have nice sandy beaches all year long.
The west side, or the leeward side, is the oldest part of the island. This is because Oahu is on a westward shifting plate, and was created as the result of a hot spot forming a volcano. When looking at the Hawaiian island chain the further west the island is the older it is. The west side also is home to big waves, because it is exposed to some big storm from the northwest.
The east side, or the windward side, is the youngest part of the island. It is also the windiest. Hint windward side. It is home to the greenest part of the island. The east side has the most rainfall. Most of the storms that hit Hawaii come from the east, and release most of their precipitation before the storms hit the mountain range. The beaches are very diverse. There are beaches that are made up of lots of sand, and beaches that are composed of rugged rocks.
The northern coastline of Oahu, also known as the north shore, is an avid surfers paradise. The north shore is the part of the island that take the brunt of the biggest winter storm energy. When huge winter storms occur up in the arctic the energy is dispersed throughout the pacific, and the north shore is directly in that path. The storms energy causes huge swells that migrate across the ocean. When the near the north shore the start to build into waves, because of the shallow waters of the north shore. The shallow water are due to the coral reefs that expand the shorelines.
The southern shore of Oahu is where most of the tourism occurs. This factor alone has changed the geography of many beaches on the south shore. Tourists love big sandy beaches. Well in Hawaii sand is pumped in or shipped in to keep the tourists happy. Naturally sand comes and goes depending on the time of year. Generally in the summer there would be more sand compared to the winter. This is due to large winter storms wiping the sand away. Now this natural phenomenon does not occur because all the results pay money to have nice sandy beaches all year long.
The west side, or the leeward side, is the oldest part of the island. This is because Oahu is on a westward shifting plate, and was created as the result of a hot spot forming a volcano. When looking at the Hawaiian island chain the further west the island is the older it is. The west side also is home to big waves, because it is exposed to some big storm from the northwest.
The east side, or the windward side, is the youngest part of the island. It is also the windiest. Hint windward side. It is home to the greenest part of the island. The east side has the most rainfall. Most of the storms that hit Hawaii come from the east, and release most of their precipitation before the storms hit the mountain range. The beaches are very diverse. There are beaches that are made up of lots of sand, and beaches that are composed of rugged rocks.