Kahoʻolawe
island in Maui County, Hawaii
Kahoʻolawe is the smallest of the eight main volcanic islands of the Hawaiian Islands. Unpopulated, it lies about seven miles (11 km) southwest of Maui. The island is 11 mi (18 km) long by 6.0 mi (9.7 km) wide, with a total land area of 44.97 sq mi (116.47 km2). Its highest point is the crater of Luamakika, at the summit of Puʻuomoaʻula Nui, about 1,477 feet (450 m) above sea level.
Kahoʻolawe is relatively dry, with an average annual rainfall of less than 26 in (66 cm) resulting from a combination of being too low to generate much orographic precipitation from the northeastern trade winds and lying in the rain shadow of eastern Maui's 10,023-foot-high (3,055 m) volcano, Haleakalā. More than one quarter of Kahoʻolawe has been eroded down to saprolitic hardpan soil, largely on exposed surfaces near the summit.
Historically, Kahoʻolawe was always sparsely populated, due to its lack of fresh water. During World War II and the following decades, it was used as a training ground and bombing range by the Armed Forces of the United States. After decades of protests, the U.S. Navy ended live-fire training exercises on Kahoʻolawe in 1990, and the whole island was transferred to the jurisdiction of the state of Hawaii in 1994. The Hawaii State Legislature established the Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve to restore and to oversee the island and its surrounding waters.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Kahoʻolawe” as island in Maui County, Hawaii. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as island in Maui County, Hawaii. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q224086. VIAF identifies the subject as 315527615. The Library of Congress control number is sh92003193. Authority coordinates are 20.550, -156.600. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1990 and 1994.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Kahoʻolawe”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Kahoʻolawe primary sources, Kahoʻolawe archive and Kahoʻolawe research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Kahoʻolawe”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Kahoʻolawe” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.