Kaūmana Caves County Park, County park and tourist attraction in Hilo, Hawaii
Kaūmana Caves County Park is a county park in Hilo, on the Big Island of Hawaii, built around a set of natural lava tube caves. The park has a small parking area, picnic facilities, and a stairway leading down to the cave entrances.
The caves were formed by a large lava flow from Mauna Loa in 1881. As the surface cooled and hardened, the molten rock inside kept moving, eventually draining away and leaving behind hollow tubes.
The park lies about 6.3 km southwest of Hilo, in a landscape of farmland and small bays and headlands. The surrounding area is sparsely populated, with roughly 48 people per square kilometre, and the ground rises to 301 metres above sea level. Nukupahu Gulch, a 1,315-metre point, stands 17.1 km to the east.
The park sits at about 300 metres elevation roughly 6 km southwest of Hilo, reached by a side road off the main highway. A flashlight is needed, since the tubes go dark just past the entrance, and the floor is uneven and rocky, so wear sturdy shoes.
The park sits at about 300 metres above sea level, roughly 6 km southwest of Hilo, on land given to farming; the surrounding area is a mix of agricultural plots and small bays and points along the coast.
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