Water at the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge, one of the few coastal salt marshes on the island of Maui, has been bright pink since at least October 30, officials say, after its salt content surged amid an extreme drought.
While Kealia literally means “salt encrustation,” the pond’s salinity has skyrocketed well beyond normal because of Maui’s extreme drought.
The entire island is in severe or worse drought, according to the US Drought Monitor.
The area where the Kealia Pond refuge is located is in what’s considered an extreme drought – the second-worst on the Drought Monitor’s scale.
@Traviskeahi_photo/InstagramThe Waikapu Stream, which brings water from the West Maui Mountains down into the Kealia Pond, also flows through the area of extreme drought.
Persons:
Kealia
Organizations:
CNN, Wildlife, University of Hawaii, Fish and Wildlife Service, US Drought Monitor
Locations:
Hawaii, Maui, Salt, what’s, West Maui, Maui County, Lahaina