Hawaiian Trough the Hawaiian Arch. The Hawaiian Arch extends about 200 meters above the surrounding ocean floor, and contains tilted coral reefs. The coral reefs in the Hawaiian Tough are described as mesophotic coral ecosystems, which can be found between 100 and 500 feet below sea level. 43 percent of fish species documented at the mesophotic reefs are unique to the Hawaiian Islands. At Maui’s ‘Au’au channel the largest uninterrupted mesophotic coral ecosystem was discovered, with an area larger than 3 square miles. These reefs contained many stony, reef building coral that belong to the genus Leptoseris, which are adapted for deep
Hawaiian architecture and experimented with the use of coral blocks hewn from the reefs of the Hawaiian Islands. Coral seemed plentiful and were comparable to bricks used for construction in New England. When Queen Kaahumanu converted to the Congregational denomination of Christianity, she commissioned the construction of a major church in what is now downtown Honolulu. Kawaiahao Church is one of the longest-lasting relics of Hawaiian mission architecture using coral blocks. Today, Kawaiahao Church stands adjacent to the Mission Houses Museum, surviving examples of Hawaiian mission architecture using wood. At the same time that Congregational missionaries went about the construction of Kawaiahao