Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
115km²
Area
64km
Coastline
452m
Highest point
0
People
27°C
Warmest sea
September
3,845km
To the mainland
When to go to Kahoolawe
Best for the beach from May to September.
The sea is warmest in September (27 °C) and coolest in February (24 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Maui County, Hawaii
Kahoolawe is an volcanic island in United States. It belongs to Hawaiian Islands. It covers 115 km², with 64 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 452 m. Nobody lives on it. The nearest mainland is 3,845 km away.
Getting there
- Kahului International Airport (OGG)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 42 km in a straight lineCar hire at OGG airport (Kahului)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 3,845 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From May to Septemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Kahoolawe.
- 6beachesHaikioawa Landing and 5 more
- 1lighthousesSouthernmost Point Light
- 7named peaksBM 855, Black 2, Pu'u Moiwi and 4 more
- 1volcanoesPu'u Moa'ulanui
- 3ruins and archaeological sitesAhupū Tank
- 1campsites
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Kahoolawe in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Kahoolawe, each with its own numbers.
4beaches and covesCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
26.9°C
Kaukaukapapa Beach
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
4 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Kaukaukapapa Beach26.9°C
- Kaulana Beach26.9°C
- Honukanaenae26.9°C
- Hanakanae‘a Beach26.9°C
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 188 m above the sea. 54 % of it is below 200 m.
- 14 %0–50 m
- 41 %50–200 m
- 46 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
10 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 25 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 |
| Night low (°C) | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 24 |
| Sea (°C) | 25 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 25 |
| Rain (mm) | 67 | 68 | 91 | 48 | 37 | 26 | 28 | 38 | 33 | 54 | 67 | 76 |
| Wet days | 10 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 11 |
| Sun h/day | 7.8 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 9.1 | 9.8 | 10.2 | 10.2 | 10.0 | 9.4 | 8.3 | 7.6 | 7.2 |
| Wind (km/h) | 18 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 20 | 20 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +1.1 |
| 2021 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | −0.3 | −0.5 | +0.3 | +0.2 |
| 2022 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.4 |
| 2023 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.1 | −0.1 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.5 |
| 2024 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.1 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.6 |
| 2025 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.8 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Maui
United States1,889 km²3,055 m42 km away
LanaiUnited States366 km²1,030 m45 km away
MolokaʻiUnited States677 km²1,515 m78 km away
HawaiiUnited States10,434 km²4,207 m162 km away
OahuUnited States1,555 km²1,227 m176 km away
KauaʻiUnited States1,442 km²1,598 m344 km away
NiʻihauUnited States186 km²381 m399 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q224086) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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