What are the lava zones on Big Island?

There are 9 lava zones for the five volcanoes (Kilauea, Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea, Hualalai, and Kohala) on the Big Island. Per the US Geological Survey, USGS, “the zones, ranked from 1 through 9, represent a scale of decreasing hazard as the numbers increase, based on the probability of coverage by lava flows.



People Also Ask

The hazard zones are based on the locations of probable eruption sites (based on past eruption sites), the likely paths of lava flows erupted from those sites (based on topography and the paths of previous lava flows), and the frequency of lava flow inundation of an area over the past several thousand years.

MORE DETAILS

Zone 3 - Areas less hazardous than zone 2 because of greater distance from recently active vents and (or) because of topography. 1-5% of zone 3 has been covered since 1800, and 15-75% has been covered within the past 750 years.

MORE DETAILS

Zone 1 - Includes summits and rift zones of Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes, where vents have been repeatedly active in historical time. Zone 2 - Areas adjacent to and downslope of zone 1. 15-25% of zone 2 has been covered by lava since 1800, and 25-75% has been covered within the past 750 years.

MORE DETAILS

Larger swaths of land on the slopes of Kilauea and Mauna Loa are at risk for lava inundation, designated as Lava Zone 3. The zones are determined based on multiple factors such as topography, frequency of eruptions at a given location, and the percentage of land area covered in lava over time.

MORE DETAILS

Maui Zone 4 - Functionally has no danger from eruption havening not been inundated with lava for at least 100,000 years. This makes it most similar to a Zone 9 on the island of Hawai?i.

MORE DETAILS

Kailua-Kona is located in Lava Zone 4, which includes all of Hualalai. Although Hualalai is not extinct, the frequency of eruptions is lower, much lower, than that for Kilauea or Mauna Loa.

MORE DETAILS

Lava Zone 2 areas include Hawaiian Ocean View Ranchos, Hawaiian Ocean View Estates, Black Sand Beach, Nanawale Estates, Kehena, Kalapana Seaview Estate, parts of Hawaiian Paradise Park, Hawaiian Beaches, parts of Kapoho, Puna Beach Palisades, Kona Paradise, Honomalino, Opiihale and more.

MORE DETAILS

If the park determines that access to the flow is safe you can go on a hike to see the lava. Because viewing conditions change on a daily basis you should look up the most recent information about the active surface flows shortly before you plan to see the lava yourself.

MORE DETAILS

Is lava zone 6 safe? Zones 3-9 are considered “low risk” due to being protected by topographical barriers, being down-slope from the dormant Mauna Kea, or by virtue of not having been overrun by lava in the last couple of centuries.

MORE DETAILS

As for survival, you'll want to bring the usual supply of food, water, and med kits. If you're heading to the lava castle, and you want to make sure you don't need to backtrack, you should bring 2 purple tablets. Those are necessary to progress.

MORE DETAILS

On average for a 1,200 sf home you can expect annual premiums to be approximately $6,000.00. For comparison, a homeowners policy for lava zone 3 or higher is about $1,400.00 per year and you will have numerous choices for coverage.

MORE DETAILS

Zone 8 - Remaining part of Mauna Kea. Only a few percents of this area has been covered by lava in the past 10,000 years. Zone 9 - Kohala Volcano, which last erupted over 60,000 years ago.

MORE DETAILS

Captain Cook shares much in common with the District of Puna. Both districts are situated on active volcanoes and contain large sections of land that are in Lava Flow Hazard Zone 2.

MORE DETAILS

The land area classified under Zone 1, the most hazardous, includes volcanic vents in the summits and rift zones of Kilauea and Mauna Loa, Hawai'i's two most active volcanoes. Zone 9, considered the least hazardous region, consists of Kohala, a volcano that has not erupted for 60,000 years.

MORE DETAILS

If you're short on time, here's a quick answer: Ocean View Hawaii is so affordable because of its remote location far from resort areas, lack of amenities, and land abundant with lava rock.

MORE DETAILS