The Waimea River is a river on the island of Kauai in the U.S. state of Hawaii. At approximate 12 miles in length, it is one of the longest rivers in the Hawaiian Islands. It rises in a wet plateau of the island’s central highlands, in the Alaka’i Swamp, the largest high-elevation swamp in the world. It flows south, passing through the 3,000-foot-deep (910 m) Waimea Canyon, known as the ‘Grand Canyon of the Pacific.’
Due to wave action, sand gets pushed up into a large hill in front of the river each winter. This creates a natural dam that water collects behind for months, and which is about 20 feet above the level of the ocean on the other side of the sand berm. Every year some one digs a trench through the sand releasing millions of gallons of fresh water into the ocean. This produces a standing wave which is perfect for body boarding and surfing on.
The Daily Omnivore 
Leave a comment