Overview
- The National Park Service confirmed the roughly 90-foot Hōlei Sea Arch is gone and said it stood on Sept. 23 but was missing when the park reopened on Sept. 28, placing the collapse during the park’s temporary closure for Tropical Storm Nolo.
- The arch formed about 550 years ago from an ancient lava flow at the end of Chain of Craters Road and was one of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park’s most photographed coastal landmarks.
- Park officials and scientists attribute the collapse to long-term differential erosion, with recent heavy surf from storms and prior damage from the 2018 Kīlauea eruption weakening the rock.
- Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park posted before-and-after photos, reminded visitors that the cliffs are unstable, and reiterated that the original overlook was closed in 2020 with a safer viewing area opened farther back.
- The loss underscores that sea arches are temporary coastal features and that continuing cliff retreat may create new formations while also posing ongoing safety risks to visitors and first responders if people enter closed areas.