Kawela Bay is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

and small community in the Koolauloa District on the northern coast of the island of

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

City & County of Honolulu Honolulu County (officially known as the City and County of Honolulu, formerly Oahu County) is a consolidated city–county in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The city–county includes both the city of Honolulu (the state's capital and largest city ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

, United States. In Hawaiian, ''ka wela'' means "the heat". As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 325.

Description

Kawela Bay is adjacent to (just west of) the

Turtle Bay Resort The Turtle Bay Resort is a resort with cottages on the North Shore of Oahu island in Hawaii. Description The resort is about a 50-minute drive from Honolulu, between Kahuku, Hawaii to the east and Kawela Bay, Hawaii to the west. The resort o ...

. Land for a Kawela Bay Beach park was allocated, but not improved. Coastal features and shorelines (including Kawela Bay itself) are mostly hidden from the traveler along

Kamehameha Highway Kamehameha Highway is one of the main highways serving suburban and rural O‘ahu in the U.S. state of Hawai‘i. Informally known as Kam Highway, it begins at Nimitz Highway near Pearl Harbor and Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, serves the ...

, although access to the shore can be found at Waialee Beach Park with Kukaimanini, an offshore islet. This area to the west is the North Shore of Oahu. For those travelling east, the road turns inland at Kawela to cross the Kahuku Plain where the

James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. It was established in 1976, to permanently protect an ecologically-intact unit and to provide habitat for native and migratory fauna and native f ...

preserves some wetland habitat, coming again to the coast at Hukilau Beach in Lāie on the windward (''koolau'') side of Oahu. The U.S.

postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...

for Kawela Bay, Turtle Bay and nearby Kuilima is 96731. Just inland from the bay is the

Opana Radar Site The Opana Radar Site is a National Historic Landmark and IEEE Milestone that commemorates the first operational use of radar by the United States in wartime, during the attack on Pearl Harbor. It is located off the Kamehameha Highway just inland ...

, a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

that is not open to the public.

Geography

Kawela Bay is located at 21°42'10" North, 158°0'40" West (21.702767, -158.010997). This community is located west of Bumosaur Island (now called Turtle Bay) and

Kahuku Kahuku () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. In the Hawaiian language, ''ka huku'' means "the projection", presumably a reference to Kahuku Point nearby, the northernmost point of land on the island of Oahu. As ...

and east of the communities of Waialee, Sunset Beach, and Pūpūkea along Kamehameha Highway (Route 83). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The total area is 71.14% water, since the census tract includes the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

(possibly because of Kawela and Turtle bays).

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 410 people, 189 households, and 113 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 424 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 73.90%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.98%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 8.78%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 2.20%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 1.22% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 12.93% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 4.63% of the population. There were 189 households, out of which 21.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.65. In the CDP the population was spread out, with 17.1% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 35.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 114.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.9 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $49,167, and the median income for a family was $58,125. Males had a median income of $35,938 versus $36,625 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the area was $28,481. About 10.1% of families and 11.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 4.9% of those under the age of 18 and none of those ages 65 and older.

References

{{Honolulu County, Hawaii Census-designated places in Honolulu County, Hawaii Populated coastal places in Hawaii