Ka'u Desert - Hawaii

Hike through chunks of undulating weathered lava flows and pay homage to 80 Hawaiian warriors who perished as a result of the most devastating eruption in Hawaiian history!

The formation of the hot, quake-shaken Ka'u Desert is linked to one of most devastating explosions in Hawaiian history that occurred in 1790, during which Chief Keoua traveled Ka'u to oppose the dominant chief, Kamehameha, and led to the suffocation of 80 warriors from volcanic ash. Today visitors can still see the footprints of native warriors preserved in the ash in this leeward desert on the Big Island of Hawaii, which is mostly made up of dried lava remnants, sand and gravel. The southern portion of the Ka'u Desert is bounded by the Hilina Pali fault scarp, which is 500 m (1,500 ft) above the nearby Pacific Ocean and contains a complex series of outwash plains, alluvial fans, and debris flows. Ka'u Desert covers an area of the Kilauea Volcano along the Southwest rift zone and although the area lacks vegetation due to acid rainfall, the Ka'u Desert is popular for walking and hiking tours.

To get to the Ka'u Desert, follow Highway 11 counterclockwise from Kona to the volcano.