THE HAWAII COUNTY LAND BRIEF
Land in the
Lava Flows and Rock Outcrops setting.
Hawaii County has 4,028.4 square miles of land in Hawaii. 9 mapped landscape regions meet across Hawaii County: Lava Flows and Rock Outcrops, Humid and Very Humid Organic Soils on Lava Flows, Humid and Very Humid Volcanic Ash Soils on Low and Intermediate Rolling Mountain Slopes, among others.
Lava fields, rocky cliffs, outcrops and cinder cones occur from coastal elevations to high volcanic summits. Surface form varies from undulating flows to steep and exposed rock.
Regional context: Lava Flows and Rock Outcrops ↗ · Regional mapping across the county footprint
Where the landscape changes
Hawaii County intersects 9 mapped regional units. The largest mapped shares are:
- Lava Flows and Rock Outcrops39.3%
- Humid and Very Humid Organic Soils on Lava Flows13.7%
- Humid and Very Humid Volcanic Ash Soils on Low and Intermediate Rolling Mountain Slopes12.1%
- Subhumid and Humid Intermediate and High Mountain Slopes10.6%
- Semiarid and Subhumid Organic Soils on Lava Flows9.8%
Humid and Very Humid Organic Soils on Lava Flows in Hawaii County
Windward lava-flow landscapes occupy southeastern slopes of Mauna Loa and Kilauea. Uneven volcanic surfaces, humid conditions and streams create a varied lower and middle elevation setting.
Read the regional source ↗Humid and Very Humid Volcanic Ash Soils on Low and Intermediate Rolling Mountain Slopes in Hawaii County
Wetter windward slopes on Hawaii and Maui combine rolling volcanic terrain with steep-sided gulches. Volcanic ash soils and stream-cut relief distinguish this regional landscape.
Read the regional source ↗Finding your parcel within Hawaii County
The atlas lists 54 cities, towns, townships, and Census communities associated with Hawaii County, including Mountain View, Hilo, Waimea. The list includes overlapping geography types and does not divide the county into exclusive service areas.
Hawaii County by land and water
The Census records 1,057.7 square miles of water within Hawaii County, or 20.8% of its total area. That share is close to Hawaii County’s 20.8%. This is geographic context; waterfront status and usable land must be checked at the parcel.
For scale, Hawaii County has 150.9 times the land area of nearby Volcano CDP (26.7 square miles). These areas describe boundaries, not comparable property prices.

