Basics

Geography

Hawaii’s Big Island is the youngest and largest of the Hawaiian Islands with 4,028 square miles and it’s still growing as long as lava continues to pour out of Kilauea, the world’s most active volcano. It has 266 miles (428 km) of coastline.

Hawaii’s Big Island stretches from sea level to the volcanic peaks of Maunakea, 13,796 feet (4,205 m), and Maunaloa, 13,677 feet (4,169 m). Hawaii’s Big Island has the Islands’ highest lake, Lake Waiau, at 13,020 feet (3,969 m) above sea level; the state’s longest sheer drop waterfall, Akaka Falls, 442 feet (135 m); the southernmost tip of the United States, Ka Lae (South Point) and the tallest mountain measured from the ocean floor, Maunakea.

Of all the islands, Hawaii’s Big Island is the most ecologically diverse, with natural environments ranging from the desert plains of Kau to the rain forests above Hilo, to snowcapped Maunakea. There are said to be 13 climatic regions on earth and the Big Island has all but two, the Arctic and the Saharan.