{{Short description|Bay in Hawaii County, Hawaii}} [[File:Hilo.jpg|right|thumb|alt=bay from the air|Hilo Bay and the town of [[Hilo, Hawaii]] with [[Breakwater (structure)|breakwater]] completed in 1929]] '''Hilo Bay''' is a large [[bay]] located on the eastern coast of the [[Hawaii (island)|island of Hawai{{okina}}i]].
==Description== The modern town of [[Hilo, Hawaii]] overlooks Hilo Bay, located at {{coord| 19|44|10|N| 155|4|37|W| type:waterbody_region:US-HI |display=inline,title}}. North of the bay runs the [[Hamakua Coast]] on the slopes of [[Mauna Kea]], and south of the bay is the [[Puna, Hawaii|Puna district]] on the slopes of [[Mauna Loa]]. The area just inland from the bay is the [[Hilo District, Hawaii|Hilo district]], divided into north and south Hilo within the [[Hawaii County, Hawaii|County of Hawaii]].<ref>{{cite web |title= Hawaii County Council |work= official web site |url= http://www.co.hawaii.hi.us/council/districts.htm |accessdate= 2010-03-01 |url-status= dead |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110708080958/http://www.co.hawaii.hi.us/council/districts.htm |archivedate= 2011-07-08 }}</ref> [[Banyan Drive]] runs through [[Liliʻuokalani Gardens]] near downtown Hilo at the edge of the bay.<ref name="Discover Hawaii Tours">{{Cite web|url=https://www.discoverhawaiitours.com/travel-guide/banyan-drive.html|title=Banyan Drive|publisher=Discover Hawaii Tours|location=Honolulu, HI, USA|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423113121/http://www.discoverhawaiitours.com/travel-guide/banyan-drive.html|archivedate=2012-04-23|url-status=dead|accessdate=2013-02-10}}</ref>
==History== The [[ancient Hawaii]]an name for the village on the bay was [[Waiakea, Hawaii|Waiākea]].<ref>{{gnis|359188}}</ref> After being surveyed in 1825 by [[Charles Robert Malden]] of {{HMS|Blonde|1819|6}}, it was called Byron's Bay for captain [[George Byron, 7th Baron Byron]]. The [[coral reef]] on the eastern side of the bay is called Blonde Reef for the ship. The first [[Breakwater (structure)|breakwater]] across the bay was first started in 1908 under contract to Engineer Delbert Metzger.<ref>{{cite news |title= Hilo Breakwater Notes |work= Overland Monthly |page=73 |volume=LIV |author= C. E. Fuguson |year= 1909 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=XlAAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA73 }}</ref> It was extended in 1911, and completed in 1929.<ref>{{cite book |author=John R. K. Clark |title= Beaches of the Big Island |publisher= University of Hawaii Press |year= 1985 |isbn= 978-0-8248-0976-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/beachesofbigisla00clar/page/22 22] |url= https://archive.org/details/beachesofbigisla00clar |url-access=registration }}</ref> The small island [[Coconut Island (Hawaii Island)|Moku Ola]] (now called Coconut Island) was the site of an ancient temple dedicated to healing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ulukau.org/cgi-bin/hpn?e=q-0mahele--00-0-0--010---4----dtt--0-0l--1en-Zz-1---20-about-mokuola--00031-00010escapewin-00&a=d&c=mahele&cl=search&d=HASH01f6f34fd282d21d593797fb |title=lookup of mokuola |accessdate= 2010-03-17 |work=Hawaiian Place Names web site |publisher=University of Hawaii |author=Lloyd J. Soehren }}</ref>
===Tsunamis=== [[File:Tsunami large.jpg|thumb|alt=people running|1946 Tsunami heads inland from Hilo Bay]] Hilo Bay is sometimes called "the tsunami capital of the United States".<ref>{{cite web |title= Frequently Asked Questions: Where is Hilo Hawai′i? |work= web site |publisher= [[Pacific Tsunami Museum]] |url= http://www.tsunami.org/faq.html#1 |accessdate= 2010-02-28 |url-status= dead |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090528094603/http://www.tsunami.org/faq.html#1 |archivedate= 2009-05-28 }}</ref> The bay's topography steers tsunamis to Hilo from earthquakes in active areas such as [[Chile]] and the [[Aleutian Islands]].<ref>{{cite news |title= Hilo has been tsunami magnet |date= February 27, 2010 |newspaper= [[Honolulu Advertiser]] |url= http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100228/NEWS01/2280360/1352 |accessdate= 2010-02-28 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100304164228/http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100228/NEWS01/2280360/1352 |archive-date= March 4, 2010 |url-status= dead }}</ref> The April 1, 1946, tsunami from the [[1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake]] killed by between 165 and 173 people in Hilo Bay.<ref name="PAGER-CAT">{{citation |author=USGS |title=PAGER-CAT Earthquake Catalog |date=September 4, 2009 |url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/static/lfs/data/pager/catalogs/ |access-date=August 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717083128/https://earthquake.usgs.gov/static/lfs/data/pager/catalogs/ |url-status=live |series=Version 2008_06.1 |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] |archive-date=July 17, 2020}}</ref> On May 23, 1960, a tsunami originating from the [[1960 Valdivia earthquake]] in Chile (the [[List of earthquakes#Strongest earthquakes by magnitude|most powerful earthquake]] ever recorded) killed 61 people in Hilo. After the February 27, [[2010 Chile earthquake]], the effectiveness of the [[Pacific Tsunami Warning Center]] (PTWC) was shown, as no one was injured on Hilo Bay after the (PTWC) sirens sounded and evacuations were ordered.<ref>{{cite news |title= Hours of waiting, watching from vantage points around state |author= Susan Essoyan |url= http://www.starbulletin.com/news/hawaiinews/20100228_Hours_of_waiting_watching_from_vantage_points_around_state.html |date= February 28, 2010 |accessdate= 2010-02-28 |archive-date= 2016-03-03 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200358/http://www.starbulletin.com/news/hawaiinews/20100228_Hours_of_waiting_watching_from_vantage_points_around_state.html |url-status= dead }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}} {{commonscat}} {{Hilo, Hawaii}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Bays of Hawaii (island)]] [[Category:Hilo, Hawaii]]