Home > History of Molokini?

History of Molokini?

History of Molokini? The following question was answered by Joy.

Question:

I'm interested the the history of Molokini. Do you offer a boat or helicopter trip to Molokini that includes a walking tour of the island?

Answer:

Molokini Crater has a very colorful history. The sunken volcanic cinder cone was formed by an eruption around 230,000 years ago.

Humans first arrived in Hawai about 1400 years ago and Archaeological evidence shows that ancient Hawaiians used the area for fishing. During WW II the US military bombed the crater for target practice. In the 1970's and 80's the remaining unexploded ordinance was detonated in place. This resulted in destruction of coral which caused a public outcry. Remaining ordinance was removed by hand is a series of very hazardous procedures.

In 1977 Molokini was designated as a marine preserve and today it is also a bird sanctuary. While many boats now have moorings (to protect the reef from anchor damage) it is prohibited to land on the atoll by ship or by helicopter.

Marine life commonly seen at Molokini includes yellow tang, Moorish idol, parrot fish and black trigger fish. The crater is also home to 38 species of hard corals. We do offer a variety of different tours that will take you to see Molokini by boat.