Fly over the Hawaiian Islands to see volcanoes, black and white sand beaches, and Waimea Canyon

NARRATOR: The product of furious volcanic activity, the Hawaiian Islands stretch like a chain of beautiful gems in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. These 132 islands make up the United States' 50th state. Geologically, the youngest island in the chain is the island of Hawaii. More commonly known as the Big Island, it was formed by five volcanoes, including Mauna Loa and Kilauea, the world's most active volcano. From time to time the steaming vents belch up rivers of lava, demolishing highways, covering forests, and permanently changing the island landscape. In 1969, continuous eruptions near the summit of Kilauea created a new mountain—Mauna Ulu.

As the volcanoes create new land, other natural forces work to alter it. The pounding of the ocean wears down or breaks up volcanic rock. In some places the sea has ground the rock into black sand beaches. In others it has covered the shore with ocean sediment—the soft, white sand most people associate with Hawaii. But water is a force that shapes more than Hawaii's shores.

Waimea Canyon, on the island of Kauai, is one of the most spectacular gorges in the world. Forty kilometers long and 1.6 kilometers wide, the canyon was carved by the force of rivers and waterfalls.