What You Need to Know About Hawai’i Island

Big Island Now stock photo. Feb. 2017.

Hawai’i Island, also known as the “Big Island” is so big that every other island can fit inside of it – and the island is still growing. The Big Island was created from five different volcanoes; Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, Kīlauea, Hualālai and Kohala. Kīlauea is the most active volcano in the world and is the only active volcano in Hawai’i, it has been flowing into the ocean since 1983.

The island is home to the largest mountain, Mauna Kea, which sits 13,760 feet above sea level. If measured from the ocean floor, it is over 30,000 feet high, making it the largest mountain in the world. Big Island has green, red and black sand beaches. In the winter, snow can be visible atop Mauna Kea. The main resort towns are in Kailua-Kona and Kohala. Big Island is home to 11 of the world’s 13 climate zones. Here you can find waterfalls, valleys, lava fields, molten lava flowing into the ocean, rainforests, giant cliffs and mountains. Only on Big Island can you ski, walk to a lava flow, swim in the ocean and hike in a rainforest in a single day.