550-Year-Old Hōlei Sea Arch Collapses Into Pacific — SkimNews
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- Hōlei Sea Arch collapsed into the Pacific Ocean between September 23 and 27 per NPS, ending the 90-foot-tall lava rock formation's approximately 550-year run along Volcanoes National Park's remote coastline
- NPS had warned in 2021 that the arch would eventually crumble, citing years of coastline instability and earthquake damage from the 2018 Kīlauea volcano summit collapse to nearby cliffs
- The collapse likely occurred during Tropical Storm Nolo while the park was temporarily closed, compounding damage from a 2020 tropical storm that had already broken off a chunk of rock from the arch's base
- In January 2020, new cracks prompted NPS to close the original viewing area and open a safer replacement nearby — NPS had called the formation "beautiful, but temporary" with a "limited life span"
- NPS said the collapse marks "the latest transformation" of the rugged coastline and that new formations will replace it as the cliff slowly migrates inland
Why it matters: The collapse removes one of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park's most iconic and heavily photographed landmarks — and vindicates NPS's 2021 warning that the formation was living on borrowed time after years of documented instability. The park already had a safer replacement viewing area in place from 2020, meaning visitors still have access even as the geological feature itself is gone.
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