Koʻolau Range

---

title: "Koʻolau Range" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["volcanoes-of-oahu", "extinct-volcanoes-of-the-united-states", "mountains-of-hawaii", "national-natural-landmarks-in-hawaii", "polygenetic-shield-volcanoes", "pliocene-shield-volcanoes", "pleistocene-shield-volcanoes", "neogene-oceania", "pleistocene-oceania", "cenozoic-hawaii"] description: "Mountain range in Oahu, Hawaii, US" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koʻolau_Range" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Mountain range in Oahu, Hawaii, US ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox mountain"]

Field	Value
name	Koʻolau Range
photo	Koolau Range.jpg
photo_caption	View of Koolau Range from offshore Lanikai (windward coast)
highest	Kōnāhuanui
elevation	3150 ft
elevation_ref
prominence_ft	2303
prominence_ref
map	Hawaii
map_caption	Hawaiian Islands
label_position	left
location	Oahu, Hawaii, US
range	Hawaiian Islands
coordinates
topo	USGS Kilohana (HI)
type	Dormant shield volcano
age	1.7 Ma
volcanic_zone	Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain
last_eruption	32,000 - 10,000 BP
easiest_route	trail
embedded
::

| name = Koʻolau Range | other_name = | photo = Koolau Range.jpg | photo_caption = View of Koolau Range from offshore Lanikai (windward coast) | highest = Kōnāhuanui | elevation = 3150 ft | elevation_ref = | prominence_ft = 2303 | prominence_ref = | map = Hawaii | map_caption = Hawaiian Islands | label_position = left | listing = | location = Oahu, Hawaii, US | range = Hawaiian Islands | coordinates = | range_coordinates = | coordinates_ref = | topo = USGS Kilohana (HI) | type = Dormant shield volcano | age = 1.7 Ma | volcanic_zone = Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain | last_eruption = 32,000 - 10,000 BP | first_ascent = | easiest_route = trail | embedded =

Koolau Range (koolau means "windward" in Hawaiian) is the dormant fragmented remnant of the eastern or windward shield volcano of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1972.

Geology

It is not a mountain range in the proper sense, because it was formed as a single mountain called Koolau Volcano. What remains of Koolau is the western half of the original volcano that was destroyed in prehistoric times when the entire eastern half—including much of the summit caldera—slid cataclysmically into the Pacific Ocean. Remains of this ancient volcano lie as massive fragments strewn nearly 100 mi over the ocean floor to the northeast of Oahu. Kāneʻohe Bay is what remains of the ancient volcano's summit caldera after the slide. The modern Koolau mountain forms Oahu's windward coast and rises behind the leeward coast city of Honolulu — on its leeward slopes and valleys are located most of Honolulu's residential neighborhoods. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Top_Koolau_Range.jpg" caption="View of Ko{{okina}}olau Range from the top of the ridge, facing northwest. The large town of [[Kāneʻohe]] is visible in the center of the photo, located on the narrow coastal plain paralleling the range."] ::

The volcano is thought to have first erupted on the ocean floor more than 2.5 million years ago. It eventually reached sea level and continued to grow in elevation until about 1.7 million years ago, when the volcano became dormant. The volcano remained dormant for hundreds of thousands of years, during which time erosion ate away at the initially smooth slopes of the shield-shaped mountain; and the entire body subsided considerably. The highest elevation perhaps exceeded 3000 m; today, the summit of the tallest peak, Puu Kōnāhuanui is only 945 m.

Honolulu Volcanics

Main article: Honolulu Volcanics

After hundreds of thousands of years of dormancy, Koolau volcano began to erupt again. Some thirty eruptions over the past 500,000 years or so have created many of the landmarks around eastern Oahu, such as Diamond Head, Koko Head (Hanauma Bay), Koko Crater, Punchbowl Crater, Tantalus, and Āliapaakai, and are collectively known as the Honolulu Volcanic Series, or simply Honolulu Volcanics. According to the US Geological Survey, the most recent eruptions in this series of activity occurred between about 70,000 to 100,000 years ago. There is a possibility that Koolau volcano could erupt again; however, the chance of such an eruption occurring in "our lifetimes, or even those of many future generations" is remote.

History

In 1795, the newly-formed Hawaiian Kingdom conducted a battle resulting in the triumphant conquest of O'ahu on the range within part of the Nu‘uanu Pali Lookout, under the command of Kamehameha the Great, as his troops forced all of the warriors up the valley to fall to their deaths below the cliffs.

The Ko‘olau Range was designated in 1972 as a National Natural Landmark.

Transportation

There are three roads that tunnel through the southern part of the Koolau Range, connecting Honolulu to the Windward Coast. From leeward to windward:

• Hawaii Route 61 (Pali Highway)
• Hawaii Route 63 (Likelike Highway)
• Interstate H-3

Gallery

File:Koolau Range 02.JPG|View of Koolau Range with Koko Crater and Maunalua (Hawaii Kai) visible. File:Oahu Landscape.jpg|Nuʻuanu Pali, a section of the Koolau Range. Olomana is visible on the right side of the image. File:Sunset from Awawaloa.jpg|Sunset from Awawaloa File:View of Konahuanui from near summit of Awawaloa.jpg|View of Konahuanui from near the summit of Awawaloa

Notes

References

References

1. "Koolau Range". Peakbagger.
2. "Konahuanui". Peakbagger.
3. "National Natural Landmark". National Park Service.
4. (3 February 1970). "Xenoliths in the Honolulu Volcanic Series, Hawaii". [[Oxford University Press]].
5. (14 January 2016). "A geologic tour of the Hawaiian Islands: O'ahu". US Geological Survey.

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