The Hōlei Sea Arch has finally collapsed. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
For hundreds of years, a stone arch has stood on the coastline of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. On Sunday, however, the Holei Sea Arch collapsed into the sea.
The arch was formed somewhere around 550 years ago, when lava bored a hole through a cliff on Hawaii’s Big Island. Standing at nearly 100 feet tall, it was a cherished natural wonder.
“This formation is beautiful, but temporary, and has a limited life span,” the National Parks Service wrote before its recent collapse. The sea arch will eventually crumble into the sea. However, others will replace it as the cliff slowly migrates inland.”
Although expected, it’s always sad to see something like the Holei Sea Arch vanish into the ocean. As one of the most viewed destinations along the famous Chain of Craters road — a road that drops from Kilauea’s summit area all the way down to the coast — visitors could view the arch from relatively close up.
According to reports, the arch’s collapse was first spotted by a Reddit user who visited the area. When a local guide with a company called Apau Hawaii Tours saw the user’s post on social media, he went to check for himself. And sure enough, it was gone.
The National Parks Service said that it fell into the sea on September 28. The cliffs there are unstable, and visitors have long been warned to stay away from them. Now, however, tourists and locals alike have been getting too close for comfort in an effort to see what once was.
“Visitors are required to stay out of the closed areas and away from cliff edges which are unstable and can collapse without warning,” the park said in a news release.
Authorites were aware that The Holei Sea Arch was unstable, but they didn’t know exactly when it might fully collapse. In 2022, a huge storm hammered the Big Island coastline hard enough to tear chunks of rock from the sea arch. Rangers knew then it was not a matter of if, but when it would finally give up the ghost.
The collapse came in part from the severe weather Hurricane Nolo brought, as well damage to its stability caused by the 2018 Kīlauea eruption.
