Kohala, Hawaii
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The districts of the Big Island. From Northernmost, clockwise; North Kohala (highlighted),
Hilo Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...
, South Hilo Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...
, Puna, Kaū, South Kona District, Hawaii">Kona, North Kona District, Hawaii">Kona, and South Kohala">Kau, Hawaii">Kaū, South Kona District, Hawaii">Kona, North Kona District, Hawaii">Kona, and South Kohala image:HawaiiIslandDistrict-SouthKohala.svg">The districts of the Big Island. From Northernmost, clockwise; North Kohala,
Hilo Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...
, South Hilo Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...
, Puna, Kaū, South Kona District, Hawaii">Kona, North Kona District, Hawaii">Kona, and South Kohala (highlighted)">Kau, Hawaii">Kaū, South Kona District, Hawaii">Kona, North Kona District, Hawaii">Kona, and South Kohala (highlighted) Kohala () is the name of the northwest peninsula of the
island of Hawaii Hawaii is the List of islands of the United States by area, largest island in the United States, located in the Hawaii, state of Hawaii, the southernmost state in the union. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcani ...
in the Hawaiian Islands">Hawaiian Archipelago The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll. Formerly c ...
. In ancient Hawaii it was often ruled by an independent High Chief called the ''Alii Aimoku of Hawaii, Alii Nui''. In modern times it is divided into two districts of Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County: North Kohala and South Kohala. Locals commonly use the name Kohala to refer to the census-designated places of Halaula, Hāwī, and Kapaau collectively. The dry western shore is commonly known as the Kohala Coast, which has golf courses and seaside resorts.


Description

South Kohala District from Mamalahoa Highway The area was named after the dominating geological feature Kohala Mountain, the oldest of Hawaii Island's five major volcanic mountains. The current districts cover the north and western sides of the mountain, . It was one of the five ancient divisions of the island called ''moku''. The natural habitats in Kohala range across a wide rainfall gradient in a very short distance - from less than a year on the coast near Kawaihae to more than year near the summit of Kohala Mountain, a distance of just . Near the coast are remnants of
dry forests The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...
, and near the summit is a
cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, Montane forest, montane, Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist forest characteri ...
, a type of
rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...
that obtains some of its moisture from "cloud drip" in addition to precipitation. This precipitation allowed the northeast coast to be developed into
sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...
plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
s, including one founded by Rev.
Elias Bond The Bond District is a collection of historic buildings located in the district of North Kohala on the island of Hawaii. The district has three sections: the homestead of missionaries Ellen and Reverend Elias Bond (1813–1896), Kalahikiola Chu ...
used to fund his church and girls' seminary.


History


Kohala Historical Sites State Monument

The
Kohala Historical Sites State Monument Kohala Historical Sites State Monument includes the National Historic Landmark Mookini Heiau and the birthplace of Kamehameha I. It is located in remote North Kohala on the Island of Hawaii. History Mookini Heiau is one of the oldest historic ...
includes ''Mookini Heiau'', a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
. King
Kamehameha I Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; to May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii ...
, the first King of the unified Hawaiian Islands, was born in North Kohala west of Hāwī, at the ancient site called the ''Mookini Heiau''. The ''
heiau A ''heiau'' () is a Hawaiian temple. Made in different architectural styles depending upon their purpose and location, they range from simple earth terraces, to elaborately constructed stone platforms. There are heiau to treat the sick (''heia ...
'' is a living spiritual temple, and not just an historic artifact of the Hawaiian culture. The original
Kamehameha Statue Several ''Kamehameha'' statues honor the monarch who founded the Kingdom of Hawaii. Original work The pictured statue stands prominently in front of Aliiolani Hale in Honolulu, Hawaii. The statue had its origins in 1878 when Walter M. Gibso ...
stands in front of the community center in Kapaau, and duplicates are found at Aliiolani Hale in
Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
, and within the U.S. Capitol building's statue gallery in Washington, D.C.


Bond Historic District

The Bond Historic District is located in the North Kohala District, with structures from the Bond family's 19th century missionary and homesteading period on the Kohala peninsula. The Bond District has three sections: *Bond Homestead — the Bond House was built in the 1840s by the missionaries and later Kohala landowners Ellen and Reverend Elias Bond, and expanded by descendants through c. 1900. *Kalahikiola Church *Kohala Seminary


Attractions

Points of interest within Kohala include Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area, Puukoholā Heiau National Historic Site, and
Lapakahi State Historical Park Lapakahi State Historical Park is a large area of ruins from an Ancient Hawaiian fishing village in the North Kohala District on the Big Island of Hawaii.


Transportation

Major thoroughfares within Kohala include
Akoni Pule Highway (Hawaii state route 270) which provides access to Pololū Valley. The
Hawaii Belt Road The Hawaii Belt Road is a modern name for the Māmalahoa Highway and consists of Hawaii state Routes 11, 19, and 190 that encircle the Hawaii (island), Island of Hawaii. The southern section, between Hilo, Hawaii, Hilo and Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, K ...
which connects in the southern end of the Akoni Pule Highway to Kona in the south and
Hāmākua Hāmākua is a district on the northeast coast of Hawaii's Big Island, administered by the County of Hawaii in the state of Hawaii. It is also the name given for the coastline in the region, the "Hāmākua Coast". Description Hāmākua's coast ...
to the east. The Kohala Mountain Road (250) provides a link between Waimea and the Kohala CDP's of Halaʻula, Hāwī, and Kapaʻau. Kohala has two small airports. Upolu Airport is on Upolu Point at the northern tip of the island. Waimea-Kohala Airport is south of the town of
Waimea, Hawaii County, Hawaii Waimea is a landlocked community in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. Waimea is the center for ranching activities and Cowboy#Hawai'i, ''paniolo'' culture. The name Waimea means ''reddish water.'' For statistical purposes, the United States ...
. Waimea Airport is served commercially by Mokulele Airlines.


Populations of Kohala


North Kohala


Census-designated places of North Kohala

* Halaula * Hāwī * Kapaau


South Kohala


Census-designated places of South Kohala

* Puako *
Waikoloa Village Waikoloa Village or Waikōloa Village is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 6,362 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, up from 4,806 at the 2000 United S ...
* Waimea


Unincorporated towns of South Kohala

* Kawaihae


Notable residents

*
Auliʻi Cravalho Chloe Auliʻi Cravalho (; born November 22, 2000) is an American actress and singer. She made her acting debut as the voice of the title character in the Disney animated musical film '' Moana'' (2016) and reprised her role in the 2024 sequel. ...
, actress and singer


See also

* The Fairmont Orchid *
Mauna Kea Beach Hotel The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel is a hotel property on the Kohala Coast of the island of Hawaii. It sits at Kaunaoa Bay. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) awarded the hotel an Honor Award in 1967 citing its "restrained detailing and fine spatial ...


References


External links


Kohala Gallery
{{Authority control Districts of Hawaii County, Hawaii Geography of Hawaii (island)