Hilo, Hawaii facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hilo, Hawaii
Census-designated place
From top to bottom, left to right: S. Hata Building, Hilo Masonic Lodge Hall-Bishop Trust Building, Hilo Bay with Mauna Kea, Rainbow (Waiānuenue) Falls, Federal Building, Post Office and Courthouse and Liliuokalani Park and Gardens.
Location in Hawaii County and the U.S. state of Hawaii.
Hilo, Hawaii Location in Hawaii
Country	United States
State	Hawaii
County	Hawaii
Area
• Total	58.3 sq mi (151.0 km2)
• Land	53.4 sq mi (138.3 km2)
• Water	4.9 sq mi (12.7 km2)
Elevation	59 ft (18 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	44,186
Time zone	UTC−10 (Hawaii-Aleutian)
ZIP codes	96720-96721
Area code(s)	808
FIPS code	15-14650

Hilo is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. It is the fourth-largest settlement in the state of Hawaii and largest settlement in the state outside of Oahu.

Hilo is the county seat of the County of Hawaiʻi and is in the District of South Hilo. The city overlooks Hilo Bay, and has views of two shield volcanoes, Mauna Loa, an active volcano, and Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano. Mauna Kea is the site of some of the world's most important ground-based astronomical observatories. The Hilo bay-front has been destroyed by tsunamis twice. The majority of human settlement in Hilo stretches from Hilo Bay to Waiākea-Uka, on the flanks of the volcanoes.

Hilo is home to the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, ʻImiloa Astronomy Center, as well as the Merrie Monarch Festival, a week-long celebration of ancient and modern hula that takes place annually after Easter. Hilo is also home to the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation, one of the world's leading producers of macadamia nuts. Hilo is served by Hilo International Airport.

History

Around 1100 AD, the first Hilo inhabitants arrived, bringing with them Polynesian knowledge and traditions. Although archaeological evidence is scant, oral history has many references to people living in Hilo, along the Wailuku and Wailoa Rivers during the time of ancient Hawaii. Oral history also gives the meaning of Hilo as "to twist."

Originally, the name Hilo applied to a district encompassing much of the east coast of the Island of Hawaiʻi, now divided into the District of South Hilo and the District of North Hilo. When William Ellis visited in 1823, the main settlement in the Hilo district was Waiākea on the south shore of Hilo Bay. Missionaries came to the district in the early-to-middle 19th century, founding Haili Church, in the area of modern Hilo.

Hilo expanded as sugarcane plantations in the surrounding area created new jobs and drew in many workers from Asia, making the town a trading center.

A breakwater across Hilo Bay was begun in the first decade of the 20th century and completed in 1929. On April 1, 1946, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake near the Aleutian Islands created a fourteen-meter high tsunami that hit Hilo 4.9 hours later, killing 160 people. In response an early warning system, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, was established in 1949 to track these killer waves and provide warning. This tsunami also caused the end of the Hawaii Consolidated Railway, and instead the Hawaii Belt Road was built north of Hilo using some of the old railbed.

On May 23, 1960, another tsunami, caused by a 9.5 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Chile the previous day, claimed 61 lives, allegedly due to the failure of people to heed warning sirens. Low-lying bayfront areas of the city on Waiākea peninsula and along Hilo Bay, previously populated, were rededicated as parks and memorials.

Hilo expanded inland beginning in the 1960s. The downtown found a new role in the 1980s as the city's cultural center with several galleries and museums being opened; the Palace Theatre was reopened in 1998 as an arthouse cinema.

Closure of the sugar plantations (including those in Hāmākua) during the 1990s led to a downturn in the local economy, coinciding with a general statewide slump. Hilo in recent years has seen commercial and population growth, as the neighboring District of Puna became the fastest-growing region in the state.

Geography and climate

Hilo is located at 19°42′20″N 155°5′9″W / 19.70556°N 155.08583°W / 19.70556; -155.08583 (19.705520, −155.085918).

Hilo is classified by the United States Census Bureau as a census-designated place (CDP), and has a total area of 58.4 square miles (151.3 km²), 54.3 square miles (140.6 km²) of which is land and 4.1 square miles (10.6 km²) of which (7.10%) is water.

Hilo features a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen Af), with substantial rainfall throughout the course of the year. Hilo's location on the eastern side of the island of Hawaiʻi, (windward relative to the trade winds), makes it the fourth wettest designated city in the United States behind the southeast Alaskan cities of Whittier, Ketchikan and Yakutat and one of the wettest in the world. An average of around 126.72 inches (3,220 mm) of rain fell at Hilo International Airport annually between 1981 and 2010, with 272 days of the year receiving some rain., which is the most rainy days for any place in the Northern Hemisphere and exceeded only in parts of Aisén and Magallanes in Chile. Rainfall in Hilo varies with altitude, with more rain at higher elevation. At some other weather stations in upper Hilo the annual rainfall is above 200 inches (5,100 mm).

Monthly mean temperatures range from 71.2 °F (21.8 °C) in February to 76.4 °F (24.7 °C) in August. The highest recorded temperature was 94 °F (34 °C) on May 20, 1996, and the lowest 53 °F (12 °C) on February 21, 1962. The wettest year was 1994 with 182.81 inches (4,643.4 mm) and the driest year was 1983 with 68.09 inches (1,729.5 mm). The most rainfall in one month was 50.82 inches (1,290.8 mm) in December 1954. The most rainfall in 24 hours was 27.24 inches (691.9 mm) on November 2, 2000.

Hilo's location on the shore of the funnel-shaped Hilo Bay also makes it vulnerable to tsunamis.

Demographics

As of the census of 2020, 44,186 people lived in 16,225 households in the census-designated place. The population density was 796.7 people per square mile (307.7/km²). The 16,905 housing units reflected an average density of 311.3 per square mile (120.2/km²) in 2010 (No update on the Census for 2020).

The racial makeup was 32% Asian, 18.4% White, 10% Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander, 0.8% African American, 0.1% American Indian & Alaska Native, 0.6% from other races, and 38.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13% of the population.

21.1% of the households had children under the age of 18 living with them. The average household size was 2.71.

The age distribution was 21.1% under age 18, 4.5% under age 5, and 21.10% 65 or older. The percent of females are 51.1%.

The median household income on the 2020 census was $65,727.

Transport

Pride of America docked at Hilo Harbor; Hilo International Airport runway is visible in the background

Air

Hilo is served by Hilo International Airport, where Hawaiian Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines operate.

Bus

Hilo is served by the county Hele-On Bus.

Maritime

Hilo is served by the Big Island's largest harbor, Hilo Harbor, on Hilo Bay.

Business

Being the oldest city in the Hawaiian archipelago, Hilo has a significant tourism section. Hilo is home to Hawaii's only tsunami museum, mostly dedicated to the understanding of the 1946 Pacific tsunami, and is notable for the banyan trees planted by Babe Ruth and Amelia Earhart and many other famous celebrities. It is also home to the Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo, several shopping centers, cafes and other eateries, movie theaters, hotels, restaurants, and a developed downtown area also with the Hilo Farmers Market. The Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation makes their home here as well, south of the main town off Hawaii Route 11, north of Keaʻau.

Culture

• East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center
• Lyman House Memorial Museum
• Merrie Monarch Festival
• Pacific Tsunami Museum
• Hawaii Plantation Museum

Points of interest

• Hawaii Plantation Museum

Sister cities

• La Serena, Chile
• Nago, Okinawa, Japan

Trivia

Asteroid (342431) Hilo is named after Hilo.

Economy

The oldest city in the Hawaiian archipelago, Hilo's economy was historically based on the sugar plantations of its surrounding areas, prior to their closure in the 1990s.

Tourism and events

While Hilo has a fairly significant tourism sector, it gets less than half the annual visitors as the western coast of the Big Island, which has much sunnier weather and significantly less rain, with sandy and swimmable beaches and numerous major resorts.

A main source of tourism in Hilo is the annual week-long Merrie Monarch Festival, the world's preeminent hula competition and festival, which brings in visitors and participants from all over the world. It is held in the spring of each year beginning on Easter Sunday.

The local orchid society hosts the largest and most comprehensive orchid show in the state, the annual Hilo Orchid Show, which has been presented since 1951 and draws visitors and entrants worldwide.

Hilo is home to Hawaii's only tsunami museum, mostly dedicated to the 1946 Pacific tsunami, and is notable for the banyan trees planted by Babe Ruth, Amelia Earhart and other celebrities. It is home to the Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo, shopping centers, cafés and other eateries, movie theaters, hotels, restaurants, and a developed downtown area with a Farmers Market. Downtown Hilo is bounded approximately by the Wailuku River, Kamehameha Avenue, Ponahawai Street, and Kapiolani Street.

Corporations and science

The Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation is in Hilo, south of the main town off Hawaii Route 11, north of Keaʻau.

Hilo is home to most of the astronomical observatories on Mauna Kea as well as the ʻImiloa Planetarium and Museum. Astronomy has an economic impact of $100 million annually on the island. Astronomy on Mauna Kea was developed at the invitation of the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce following the collapse of the sugar cane industry.

Education

Hilo is home to a number of educational institutions, including two post-secondary institutions, the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College, and the Hilo and Waiakea primary and secondary school districts. Charter schools in the area serve primary and secondary students.

Notables

Images for kids

• 

  Hilo, Hawaii, 1907

See also

In Spanish: Hilo (Hawái) para niños