Kaimū, Hawaii

{{Use American English|date=June 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox settlement |name = Kaimu, Hawaii |native_name = Kaimu |other_name = Kaimu Beach Park |image_skyline = Black Sand Beach 1959, destroyed 1990.jpg |alt = |caption = Kaimū Beach, also known as Black Sand Beach, 1959. Beginning in 1983, eruption from the Kīlauea volcano began to affect the area, completely covering it by 1990. |coordinates = {{coord|19|21|30|N|154|58|30|W|display=inline,title}} |type = |part_of = |length = |width = |area = |height = |builder = |material = |built = |abandoned = |epochs = |website =  |notes = |population_as_of = 2024 |population_total = 0 }}

'''Kaimū'''<ref>{{Hawaiian Dictionaries|Kaimū|id=D47575|dic=pp}}</ref> was a small town in the Puna District on Island of Hawai{{okina}}i that was completely destroyed by an eruptive flow of lava from the Kūpaʻianahā vent of the Kīlauea volcano in 1990.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web|url=https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/summary/|title=Summary of the Pu'u 'Ō 'ō-Kupaianaha Eruption, 1983-present|publisher=USGS|access-date=July 20, 2010|archive-date=March 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313025402/https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/summary/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usgs.gov/publications/emplacement-subaerial-pahoehoe-lava-sheet-flows-water-1990-kupaianaha-flow-kilauea|last1= Umino|first1= Susumu |last2= Nonaka|first2= Miyuki |last3= Kauahikaua|first3= James |date=January 1, 2006 |title=Emplacement of subaerial pahoehoe lava sheet flows into water: 1990 Kūpaianaha flow of Kilauea volcano at Kaimū Bay, Hawaiʻi|publisher=USGS|access-date=December 28, 2025|language=en}}</ref> In Hawaiian, ''kai mū'' means "gathering [at the] sea" as to watch surfing.<ref>{{Hawaiian Dictionaries|kai|id=D6085}}; {{Hawaiian Dictionaries|mū|id=D13804}}</ref> The lava flow that destroyed Kaimū and nearby Kalapana erupted from the southeast rift zone of Kīlauea.

==Before volcanic destruction== Kaimū was located on '''Kaimū Bay'''. The bay was world-famous for its black sand beach which was surrounded by shady palm trees.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blog.sfgate.com/hawaii/2011/06/15/buried-treasure-new-black-sand-beach-kaimu-and-kalapana/|title = Home}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/04/us/hawaii-lava-flow-closes-black-sand-beach.html|title = Hawaii Lava Flow Closes Black Sand Beach|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 4 August 1990}}</ref> Kaimū was the birthplace of Hawaiian nationalist leader Joseph Nāwahī.

==After volcanic destruction== Now both the bay and the town are buried under some {{convert|50|ft|m}} of lava. A large section of State Route 130 (Kaimu-Chain of Craters Road) was also covered by the lava.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> The road is on top of the cooled lava now, with some homes built on top of the lava. There is also the New Beach, black sand like the old, where locals and visitors are bringing sprouted coconuts and planting them to restore the lost trees.

<gallery> New Beach on Kaimu Bay, 2009.jpg|New Beach on Kaimū Bay, formed by volcanic flows in 1990, as seen in 2009. New vegetation on the 1990 pāhoehoe lava in the former Kaimū Bay (a0006470).jpg|New vegetation on the 1990 pāhoehoe lava in the former Kaimū Bay </gallery>

==References== {{commons category}} {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaimu, Hawai'i}} Category:History of Hawaii Category:Populated places on Hawaii (island) Category:1990 in Hawaii Category:Beaches of Hawaii (island) Category:Kīlauea Category:Black sand beaches Category:Destroyed populated places Category:Populated places disestablished in 1990 Category:Former bays Category:Ghost towns in Hawaii