~ The Big Island has a population of 175,784.
~ The Big Island of Hawaii is the youngest of the Hawaiian Islands, at just over one million years old.
~ Mauna Loa, which last erupted in 1984, is the most massive mountain on earth. From its base under the ocean to the summit, it is taller than Mount Everest.
~ The Big Island is 95 miles long from its southern tip to northern tip. From east to west it is 80 miles across.
~ In 1946, a 56-foot tsunami hit the east side of the Big Island.
~ Just below the summit of Mauna Kea, inside a cinder cone, is Lake Waiau, the only glacial lake in the mid-Pacific. At 13,020 feet above sea level, it is also one of the highest lakes in the world.
