Salt “Ponds”

I have come across some mini-versions of Hawaiian salt ponds at Waterfront Park in Kakaako, Honolulu.

They are nothing like the ones at Salt Pond Beach on Kauai, but they are a nice – albeit small – illustration of how Hawaiians gathered salt from the ocean.

When waves wash upon the rocks at high tide, the water gathers in depressions and sits there as it evaporates during low tide when the waves no longer wash over the rocks. The dissolved marine salt remains.

A few tide cycles later, the white salt crystals can be gathered for home use.

I find it so very interesting to pause and reflect on how important salt was (and is) to human cultural and economic development.