the.com/blowhole
a nostril that migrated to the top of the head and never apologized
means The opening on top of a whale's or dolphin's head through which it breathes; by extension, any vent that lets air or water escape, as in rock or ice.
from A plain English compound of 'blow' and 'hole.' 'Blow' here carries its old sense of forcing air out — the same word sailors used when they cried that a whale was 'blowing,' meaning it had surfaced to spout. 'Hole' is the equally old Germanic word for an opening. So the term simply names the thing for what it does: the hole through which a whale blows.
- evolved nostril
- It's a nose relocated upward over millions of years
- voluntary breath
- Whales must consciously decide every single breath
- no smell
- Most whales sacrificed scent for this snorkel
- twin or single
- Baleen whales have two, toothed whales just one
- signature spout
- Blow shape can identify species from afar
rainbow springs state park — a blowhole in dunnellon, florida where groundwater forcefully erupts through limestone during high water levels
te apiti blow — a powerful blowhole on new zealand's north island near wellington that shoots water up to 30 meters high
spouting horn kauai — a natural blowhole on kauai, hawaii where waves crash through lava tube caverns and spray water 50+ feet into the air