在海洋里畅游的座头鲸和海豚，美国夏威夷州 Humpback whales and dolphins, Hawaii (© drewsulockcreations/Getty Images)

世界鲸鱼日快乐 Wishing you whale of a World Whale Day

Humpback whales and dolphins

As surely as some tourists return to Hawaii each and every year, thousands of humpback whale families, like the one seen in this photo, make an annual winter visit to the waters off Maui. They're the reason behind today's cetacean celebration: World Whale Day. While the observance honors whales of all kinds in all the world's oceans, it was here in Maui that the Pacific Whale Foundation first held the event and timed it to match the yearly return of the humpbacks.

These whales belong to one of at least four populations of humpbacks that live in the North Pacific. This group spends winters breeding and resting up in Hawaii's warm waters before making a summer migration to their feeding grounds in the chilly depths off Alaska. If you visit Hawaii during February, you'll have one of the best opportunities anywhere to spot these majestic marine mammals—and as we see here, maybe you'll spot a few dolphins too!

座头鲸和海豚

正如每年都有一些游客返回夏威夷一样，成千上万的座头鲸家庭，如图中所示，每年都会到毛伊岛附近的水域进行冬季访问。这就是今天鲸类庆祝活动的原因：世界鲸鱼日。当纪念仪式在世界上所有的海洋中都尊敬鲸鱼的时候，在毛伊岛这里，太平洋鲸鱼基金会首先举办了这个活动，并将它定为与驼背的年度回归相匹配。

这些鲸鱼属于生活在北太平洋的座头鲸至少四个种群之一。在夏季迁徙到阿拉斯加寒冷深处的觅食地之前，这群人会在夏威夷温暖的水域进行冬季繁殖和休息。如果你在二月份访问夏威夷，你将有机会在任何地方看到这些壮丽的海洋哺乳动物，正如我们在这里看到的，也许你也会看到一些海豚！

Nā pali海岸上的Bright Eye海蚀洞，夏威夷考艾岛 Bright Eye sea cave on the Nā Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii (© jimkruger/Getty Images)

Just another day in paradise

It takes some effort to reach the stunning Nā Pali Coast on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Located on the northwest side and stretching about 16 miles, Nā Pali isn't accessible by car. You have to hike in, fly in by helicopter, or come at it from the sea by boat. In the summer, when the waves are calm, you can explore the rugged coast by kayak, but you'll need a solid supply of muscle power for the sometimes-grueling paddle. If you seek a gentler approach—and if COVID restrictions allow—book a boat trip to explore the interiors of the sea caves that dot the shore. Today, we're looking down on the Bright Eye sea cave, one of several open-ceiling caves that lost their ceilings to the pounding of the sea.

又是天堂的一天

它需要一些努力，以达到惊人的Nā Pali夏威夷考艾岛的巴利海岸。位于西北侧，向北延伸约16英里Nā Pali岛不能开车去。你必须徒步旅行，乘直升飞机，或者乘船从海上来。在夏季，当海浪平静的时候，你可以用皮划艇探索崎岖的海岸，但是你需要一个坚实的肌肉力量来支撑有时会很费力的划桨。如果你寻求一个更温和的方法，如果科维德限制允许预订一个船旅行，探索内部的海洋洞穴点缀海岸。今天，我们俯瞰着明亮的眼睛海洞，它是几个开放式洞穴中的一个，因为海水的冲击而失去了它们的天花板。

座头鲸妈妈将她熟睡的幼鲸推到水面，夏威夷毛伊岛 Humpback whale mother pushes her sleeping calf to surface, Maui, Hawaii (© Ralph Pace/Minden Pictures)

A whale of a picture

The family drama you see playing out here in the Pacific Ocean near Maui, Hawaii, is a humpback whale calf getting a little nudge from its mom. She presumably wants the sleepy youngster to practice surfacing, something these amazing marine mammals are famous for doing in dramatic fashion. Winter is calving season, when thousands of humpbacks swim to the warm waters off Hawaii, making them a common sight from November until April. Because they're known to hang around near the ocean's surface, breaching or slapping the water with their tails, humpbacks are a favorite of whale watchers everywhere.

Most humpbacks are nomadic and can be found in all the oceans of the world, with some populations migrating distances of up to 5,000 miles as they move from breeding grounds in warmer, tropical waters, to colder areas where food is more plentiful. And when they eat, they don't mess around, consuming up to 2,000 pounds of food each day. They eat tiny crustaceans called krill, as well as small fish. Once on the verge of extinction because of commercial whaling, legislative protections in the US and around the world have helped the humpback population to rebound to somewhere around 80,000 worldwide.

像鲸鱼一样的图片

你在夏威夷毛伊岛附近的太平洋上看到的家庭剧，是一头座头鲸幼崽被它妈妈轻轻推了一下。她大概是想让这个昏昏欲睡的年轻人练习浮出水面，这些神奇的海洋哺乳动物以戏剧化的方式出名。冬季是产犊季节，成千上万的座头鲸游到夏威夷附近温暖的水域，使它们从11月到4月成为常见的景象。因为众所周知，座头鲸在海面附近游荡，用尾巴冲破水面或拍打水面，所以座头鲸是各地鲸鱼观察者的最爱。

大多数座头鲸都是游牧民族，分布在世界上所有的海洋中，当它们从温暖的热带水域的繁殖地迁徙到食物更丰富的寒冷地区时，有些座头鲸的迁徙距离可达5000英里。当他们吃东西的时候，他们不会乱来，每天消耗多达2000磅的食物。它们吃被称为磷虾的微小甲壳类动物，以及小鱼。由于商业捕鲸一度濒临灭绝，美国和世界各地的立法保护帮助座头鲸数量反弹至全球约8万头。

一艘游船经过时熔岩流撞击水面产生爆炸，夏威夷火山国家公园 A lava flow hits water to create an explosion as a tourist boat passes, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (© Patrick Kelley/Getty Images)

Where fire meets water

'Keep your distance' might be the mantra for 2020, but here at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the 50th state's 'Big Island,' it's always been good advice. Especially so for the passengers on this tour boat as they witness a red-hot lava flow hitting the chilly ocean with a tremendous explosion of steam.

We're visiting to mark the anniversary of the park's founding on August 1, 1916. Established some 34 years before Hawaii statehood, Hawaii Volcanoes was the first national park in a US territory. It's centered around two volcanic systems: Mauna Loa, one of the world's most massive volcanoes, and the highly active Kīlauea, which erupted continually from 1983 until an explosive 2018 eruption that calmed it for the time being.

夏威夷火山国家公园，夏威夷 Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii (© Grant Ordelheide/Tandem Stills + Motion)

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park turns 103

Let's light some candles today—103 of them—for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the island of Hawaii. On this day in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill to establish the park in what was then the US Territory of Hawaii. (Hawaii wouldn't become a state until 1959.) The park contains a rich array of biodiversity, important historic sites of Native Hawaiians, and the glowing stars of the show—two of the world's most active volcanos, Mauna Loa and Kīlauea.

The massive Mauna Loa rises 56,000 feet from the sea floor, which means it's more than 27,000 feet taller than Everest. Kīlauea made headlines in 2018 for oozing lava for four months straight. This eruption destroyed over 700 homes and damaged roadways, park trails, buildings, and other infrastructure. Why did we call this place the land of laze and vog? You'll have to take today's quiz to find out.

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