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Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park

Hawaii · Established August 1, 1916

Where the youngest land on Earth is still being born in fire

Area: 344,812 acres
Established: August 1, 1916
Recreation visits: 1,877,854 / yr
State: Hawaii
Highest point: Summit of Mauna Loa, 13,679 ft (4,169 m)
Lowest point: Sea level along the Puna and Kaʻū coast

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes Weather Forecast

Loading the National Weather Service forecast for Hawaiʻi Volcanoes…

Seven-day outlook at the park's reference point (19.335, -155.470). Elevation changes everything in the mountains — expect colder, windier and wetter conditions on high ground.

Map of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park

The Park

On the southeastern flank of the Island of Hawaiʻi, two of the most active volcanoes on the planet share a single park. Kīlauea, restless and relatively low, has erupted almost continuously for decades, while Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano on Earth, rises in a vast, gentle dome to 13,679 feet. Between the summit calderas and the sea lies a landscape of steaming vents, fresh black lava, and islands of old forest spared by flows.

For Native Hawaiians this is the home of Pele, the volcano deity, and the park safeguards sacred places, petroglyph fields, and trails used for centuries. It is also a living laboratory of island evolution, where native honeycreepers, tree ferns, and ʻōhiʻa trees recolonize new lava, and where the struggle against invasive species is waged acre by acre. The park is an International Biosphere Reserve and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Geography

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park stretches from the coast of Puna and Kaʻū up to the summit of Mauna Loa, spanning more than 13,600 feet of elevation. The main visitor area centers on Kīlauea's summit caldera near 4,000 feet, where Crater Rim Drive and trails circle Halemaʻumaʻu crater. Chain of Craters Road descends about 3,700 feet past a string of pit craters to the sea, ending where lava flows have repeatedly covered the road.

Northeast trade winds divide the park into two worlds. The windward summit region around Kīlauea is often cool and misty, supporting lush ʻōhiʻa and tree-fern rainforest, while the Kaʻū Desert to the southwest lies in a rain shadow and is further parched by acidic volcanic gases. Above, Mauna Loa's barren upper slopes form an alpine stone desert that sees freezing nights and occasional snow.

The park is also remarkably dynamic in size and shape. Lava flows have added new land along the coast, and the 2018 eruption and collapse reshaped Kīlauea's summit, deepening Halemaʻumaʻu dramatically.

Landmarks

KīlaueaVolcanoOne of the world's most active volcanoes, built on the southeastern flank of Mauna Loa.
HalemaʻumaʻuVolcanoThe crater within Kīlauea's caldera, traditional home of Pele and the site of eruptions since December 2020.
Mauna Loa summit (Mokuʻāweoweo)Volcano · 13,679 ftThe summit caldera of Earth's largest active volcano, which erupted in 1984 and again in 2022.
Kīlauea IkiVolcanoA pit crater whose 1959 eruption threw lava fountains nearly 1,900 feet high; a trail now crosses its cooled lava lake.
Keanakākoʻi CraterVolcanoA crater near the explosive deposits of the deadly 1790 eruption.
Kaʻū DesertAreaA rain-shadow desert of ash and lava southwest of the summit, parched by trade-wind shelter and volcanic gases.
KīpukapuauluAreaAn island of old forest surrounded by younger lava, rich in native trees and birds.
Pauahi CraterVolcanoA deep pit crater along Chain of Craters Road.
Mauna UluVolcanoA shield built by a long eruption from 1969 to 1974 on Kīlauea's East Rift Zone.
Puʻu ʻŌʻōVolcanoThe vent of Kīlauea's great 1983–2018 East Rift Zone eruption, now closed to visitors.
Hilina PaliAreaA towering fault scarp on Kīlauea's south flank, where the volcano is slowly sliding toward the sea.
Hōlei Sea ArchArchA natural arch cut by waves into lava cliffs at the end of Chain of Craters Road.

Geology

The Hawaiian Islands are the tip of a chain of volcanoes built as the Pacific Plate slides northwest over a stationary hotspot, a plume of unusually hot rock rising from deep within the mantle. The Island of Hawaiʻi sits atop the hotspot today, which is why its volcanoes are young and active while islands to the northwest are older, eroded, and extinct.

Mauna Loa is a colossal shield volcano whose flanks slope so gently they hide its size: measured from its base on the seafloor it is the most massive active volcano on Earth. Kīlauea began as a submarine volcano on Mauna Loa's southeastern flank, with its first lavas erupting somewhere between about 210,000 and 280,000 years ago. Its oldest rocks exposed above sea level are only roughly 50,000 to 70,000 years old.

Kīlauea's magma rises into a reservoir beneath the summit and moves out along two rift zones, the East Rift Zone and the Southwest Rift Zone. Its present caldera formed by collapse around 1470 CE, and the violent 1790 explosive eruption killed a party of Hawaiians crossing the area. From 1983 to 2018 the Puʻu ʻŌʻō eruption on the East Rift Zone became the longest and most voluminous outpouring of lava from that rift in more than 500 years, sending pāhoehoe and ʻaʻā flows to the sea and adding new land.

In 2018 a large eruption in the lower East Rift Zone drained the summit magma reservoir, and the floor of Kīlauea's caldera collapsed in a series of earthquakes and explosions, deepening Halemaʻumaʻu by hundreds of meters. Lava returned to the summit in December 2020, and episodes of lava lakes and high fountaining have continued intermittently since then.

Deep time

About 210,000–280,000 years agoKīlauea's first lavas erupt on the seafloor on Mauna Loa's southeastern flank.
About 50,000–70,000 years agoAge of Kīlauea's oldest rocks now exposed above sea level.
About 1470 CEKīlauea's summit collapses after a long eruption, forming the modern caldera.
1790An explosive eruption sends deadly surges across the summit region, the deadliest known eruption of a U.S. volcano.
1959Kīlauea Iki erupts with lava fountains reaching nearly 1,900 feet.
1983–2018The Puʻu ʻŌʻō eruption pours lava down the East Rift Zone for 35 years.
2018A lower East Rift Zone eruption drains the summit reservoir and Kīlauea's caldera floor collapses.
2020–presentEruptions return to Halemaʻumaʻu; Mauna Loa erupts in 2022 after 38 years of quiet.

The rocks

Kīlauea summit calderaFormed about 1470 CE, reshaped 2018
A collapse caldera enclosing Halemaʻumaʻu and marked by fault-bounded blocks.
Keanakākoʻi AshAbout 1500–1800 CE
Layered explosive deposits around the summit recording centuries of violent eruptions, including 1790.
Pāhoehoe lavaHolocene to present
Smooth, ropy lava that forms lava tubes such as Nāhuku (Thurston Lava Tube).
ʻAʻā lavaHolocene to present
Rough, clinkery lava that forms when flows cool and move quickly down steep slopes.
Hilina Pali fault systemActive
Great normal-fault scarps along Kīlauea's unstable south flank.
Mauna Loa shield lavasPleistocene to present
Stacked basalt flows forming Earth's most massive active shield volcano.

Trees, Plants & Ecosystems

945vascular plant species recorded

Coastal lowlandsSea level–2,000 ft
Hot, dry, windy lava plains with scattered native grasses, naupaka, and pōhuehue; nesting beaches for hawksbill turtles.
Kaʻū DesertAbout 2,000–4,000 ft
A rain-shadow desert of ash and lava with sparse ʻōhiʻa, pūkiawe, and ʻaʻaliʻi.
Montane rainforestAbout 3,000–5,000 ft
Wet ʻōhiʻa and hāpuʻu tree-fern forest around Kīlauea's summit, home to native honeycreepers.
Mountain parkland and kīpukaAbout 4,000–8,000 ft
Open koa and ʻōhiʻa woodland on Mauna Loa, including forest islands like Kīpukapuaulu.
Subalpine and alpine stone desertAbout 8,000–13,679 ft
Cold, dry, rocky slopes with scattered shrubs and the rare Kaʻū silversword.

Trees

ʻŌhiʻa lehuaMetrosideros polymorphaNative; often the first tree to colonize new lava and the backbone of the rainforest, now threatened by Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death.
KoaAcacia koaNative and endemic; a stately hardwood of the Mauna Loa woodlands.
MāmaneSophora chrysophyllaNative and endemic; a yellow-flowered tree of high dry forest.
NaioMyoporum sandwicenseNative; a small tree of dry woodland and kīpuka.
ʻIliahi (sandalwood)Santalum paniculatumNative and endemic; a fragrant sandalwood once heavily harvested for trade.
LamaDiospyros sandwicensisNative and endemic; a native persimmon of dry and mesic forest.
KōpikoPsychotria hawaiiensisNative and endemic; a coffee-family tree of the rainforest.
Mānele (soapberry)Sapindus saponariaNative; a tall tree of Kīpukapuaulu whose fruits were used for soap.
Hāpuʻu puluCibotium glaucumNative and endemic; the giant tree fern whose silky hairs line the trail at Nāhuku.
ʻŌlapaCheirodendron trigynumNative and endemic; a fluttering-leaved tree of wet forest.
FiretreeMorella fayaIntroduced; a nitrogen-fixing invader that alters the soil of young volcanic landscapes.

Wildflowers, shrubs & other plants

Kaʻū silversword (ʻāhinahina)Argyroxiphium kauenseNative and endemic; an endangered silversword of Mauna Loa's upper slopes.
ʻŌheloVaccinium reticulatumNative and endemic; berries traditionally offered to Pele at the crater rim.
PūkiaweLeptecophylla tameiameiaeNative; a hardy shrub of lava fields and the Kaʻū Desert.
ʻAmaʻuSadleria cyatheoidesNative and endemic; a small fern that pioneers young lava flows.
UluheDicranopteris linearisNative; a scrambling fern that blankets open slopes.
NaʻenaʻeDubautia ciliolataNative and endemic; a silversword relative of lava fields and the Kaʻū Desert.
Pili grassHeteropogon contortusNative, likely an early Polynesian-era arrival; once used for thatching.
Pōhuehue (beach morning glory)Ipomoea pes-capraeNative; a creeping vine binding coastal sand and cinders.
Naupaka kahakaiScaevola taccadaNative; a coastal shrub with distinctive half-flowers.
ʻĀkalaRubus hawaiensisNative and endemic; the Hawaiian raspberry of wet forest.
Kāhili gingerHedychium gardnerianumIntroduced; a fragrant but aggressive invader of the rainforest understory.
Fountain grassCenchrus setaceusIntroduced; a fire-prone grass that invades dry lowlands.

Wildlife

14mammals
62birds
11reptiles
4amphibians
4fish

Mammals

Hawaiian hoary bat (ʻōpeʻapeʻa)Lasiurus cinereusNative; the islands' only native land mammal, an endangered bat hunting insects at dusk.
Hawaiian monk sealNeomonachus schauinslandiNative and endemic; an endangered seal occasionally hauling out on the park's remote coast.
Feral pigSus scrofaIntroduced; uproots native forest and creates mosquito breeding pools, so the park fences it out.
Feral goatCapra hircusIntroduced; once numerous and destructive, largely removed from fenced areas.
Small Indian mongooseHerpestes javanicusIntroduced; preys on eggs and chicks of nēnē and seabirds.
Feral catFelis catusIntroduced; a major predator of native birds.
Black ratRattus rattusIntroduced; raids nests and eats native seeds.
Polynesian ratRattus exulansIntroduced by early Polynesian voyagers.

Birds

Nēnē (Hawaiian goose)Branta sandvicensisNative and endemic; the state bird, often seen grazing near the summit and Kīpukapuaulu.
ʻApapaneHimatione sanguineaNative and endemic; the crimson honeycreeper most visitors see flitting through ʻōhiʻa blossoms.
ʻIʻiwiDrepanis coccineaNative and endemic; a scarlet honeycreeper with a long, curved bill.
Hawaiʻi ʻamakihiChlorodrepanis virensNative and endemic; a small yellow-green honeycreeper.
Hawaiʻi ʻelepaioChasiempis sandwichensisNative and endemic; a curious flycatcher that often approaches hikers.
ʻŌmaʻo (Hawaiian thrush)Myadestes obscurusNative and endemic; a gray thrush whose song rings through high rainforest.
Hawaiʻi ʻākepaLoxops coccineusNative and endemic; an endangered orange honeycreeper of old koa-ʻōhiʻa forest.
Hawaiʻi creeperOreomystis manaNative and endemic; an endangered bark-gleaning honeycreeper.
ʻIo (Hawaiian hawk)Buteo solitariusNative and endemic; the only hawk native to Hawaiʻi, found only on this island.
ʻUaʻu (Hawaiian petrel)Pterodroma sandwichensisNative and endemic; nests in burrows on Mauna Loa's high slopes.
Koaʻe kea (white-tailed tropicbird)Phaethon lepturusNative; glides gracefully over the steaming craters.
Pueo (Hawaiian short-eared owl)Asio flammeusNative; hunts by day over open lava and grassland.
Kōlea (Pacific golden-plover)Pluvialis fulvaNative migrant; winters in the park after nesting in Alaska.

Reptiles & amphibians

Hawksbill sea turtle (honuʻea)Eretmochelys imbricataNative; a critically endangered turtle that nests on the park's black-sand beaches.
Green sea turtle (honu)Chelonia mydasNative; forages in the waters off the park coast.
Coqui frogEleutherodactylus coquiIntroduced from Puerto Rico; its loud nighttime calls and appetite for insects harm native ecosystems.
Cane toadBufo marinusIntroduced; Hawaiʻi has no native amphibians.
Delicate skinkLampropholis delicataIntroduced; a small skink now common in lowland habitats.
Common house geckoHemidactylus frenatusIntroduced; chirping around buildings at night.

Fish

Āholehole (Hawaiian flagtail)Kuhlia sandvicensisNative; a silvery fish of the park's coastal pools.
ʻOʻopu akupaEleotris sandwicensisNative and endemic; a sleeper fish of brackish anchialine and coastal waters.
Manini (convict tang)Acanthurus triostegusNative; a striped reef fish in tide pools along the coast.
ʻOʻopu ʻohuneBathygobius fuscusNative; a small goby of coastal tide pools.

Insects & other invertebrates

Kamehameha butterfly (pulelehua)Vanessa tameameaNative and endemic; Hawaiʻi's state insect, whose caterpillars feed on native māmaki.
Hawaiian damselflyMegalagrion hawaiienseNative and endemic; one of the island's rare native damselflies.
Laupala cricketLaupala cerasinaNative and endemic; a forest cricket from a group famous for rapid species formation.

Species totals are the park's certified NPSpecies checklist (occurrence: present).

Climate & When to Visit

The climate of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes changes more with elevation and exposure than with season. At Kīlauea's summit near 4,000 feet, days are often cool, cloudy, and damp, 12 to 15°F cooler than the coast, and rain can fall in any month as trade winds push moist air up the windward slopes. A few miles southwest, the Kaʻū Desert lies in a rain shadow and receives far less rain.

Down on the coastal plain at the end of Chain of Craters Road, conditions are usually hot, sunny, dry, and windy. On Mauna Loa's summit, nearly 14,000 feet up, the air is thin and cold: nights fall below freezing year-round and winter storms can bring snow and blizzard conditions. Occasional Kona low storms from the south in winter bring widespread heavy rain across the island.

Spring
Trade winds strengthen; mixed sun and showers at the summit and generally dry, sunny weather on the coast.
Summer
Warmest and most settled; summit highs in the 60s to low 70s°F with afternoon clouds, and hot conditions on the coast.
Autumn
Warm and relatively calm; increasing rain toward late autumn at the summit.
Winter
Cooler and wetter at the summit, with nights in the 40s°F; Mauna Loa can receive snow and Kona storms bring heavy rain.

Weather hazards

Volcanic gas (vog and sulfur dioxide): Gas from eruptions can be dangerous for people with heart or respiratory conditions, so heed air-quality alerts and closures.
Unstable ground and cliffs: Crater rims, earth cracks, and coastal lava benches can collapse without warning, so stay behind barriers and on marked trails.
Heat and sun on the coast: Lava fields radiate heat with little shade; carry plenty of water and sun protection.
Cold and altitude on Mauna Loa: Summit hikers face freezing temperatures, snow, and altitude sickness and need full cold-weather gear.
Sudden rain and fog: Summit weather can turn cold and wet quickly, reducing visibility on trails and roads.

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes Questions

When is the best time to visit Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park?

The park is open year-round and each season is rewarding. Summer is typically driest and warmest at the summit, while winter brings more rain and cool nights. Because eruptions come and go on their own schedule, check current volcanic activity and closures before you go.

Can I see lava at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park?

Sometimes. Since December 2020, Kīlauea's summit crater Halemaʻumaʻu has erupted intermittently, often visible from overlooks along Crater Rim Drive, but activity can pause for weeks or months. The NPS and the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory post current conditions.

What should I wear for the weather at Kīlauea?

Bring layers and a rain jacket. The summit near 4,000 feet is often cool, misty, and 12 to 15°F cooler than the beach, while the coastal end of Chain of Craters Road can be hot, sunny, and windy.

How are Kīlauea and Mauna Loa different?

Both are shield volcanoes fed by the Hawaiian hotspot, but Mauna Loa is vastly larger and rises to 13,679 feet, while Kīlauea is younger, lower, and erupts far more often. Kīlauea grew on the southeastern flank of Mauna Loa.

What happened at Kīlauea in 2018?

A large eruption on the lower East Rift Zone drained magma from beneath the summit, and the floor of Kīlauea's caldera collapsed in a series of earthquakes and explosions. Halemaʻumaʻu became hundreds of meters deeper, and park areas closed for months.

Which native birds can I see in the park?

Watch for nēnē near the summit, crimson ʻapapane and ʻamakihi in the ʻōhiʻa forest, and white-tailed tropicbirds soaring over the crater. Kīpukapuaulu and the forest near Nāhuku are good places to listen for honeycreepers.

More parks in the Pacific Islands

← Haleakalā National Park Hot Springs National Park →

Sources: www.nps.gov · www.usgs.gov · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · irmaservices.nps.gov · Official NPS site