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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallHawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park says the roughly 90-foot Hōlei Sea Arch was standing on September 23, 2026, and had collapsed by Sunday night, September 27. The exact time is unknown. Although the arch was carved into lava from about 550 years ago, that figure dates the rock—not the arch itself. The park has not identified a single immediate cause for the collapse and warns visitors to keep away from closed areas and unstable cliff edges.
When did the Hōlei Sea Arch collapse?
In an October 1, 2026 news release, the National Park Service (NPS) reported that the arch was still standing on Wednesday, September 23, and had collapsed by Sunday night, September 27. The release does not give an exact time. The collapse could have happened during the temporary park closure associated with Tropical Storm Nolo, but the park did not say that the storm caused it.
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The arch stood about 90 feet (27.4 meters) high, according to the NPS’s Hōlei Sea Arch place page. It extended from steep sea cliffs into the Pacific at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesWas the arch really 550 years old?
Not in the sense that its age as an arch was established. The NPS says the feature was cut into an ancient lava flow dating to about 550 years ago. The number describes the flow, not a separately measured age for the arch landform. The park attributes the arch’s formation to “differential erosion”—erosion acting at different rates because layers of lava vary in hardness.
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What caused it to fall?
The NPS has not established a single immediate trigger. It documented a longer history of instability: earthquakes during Kīlauea’s 2018 eruption and summit collapse damaged nearby cliffs, and new cracks and instability prompted the park to close the original viewing area in January 2020. A safer viewing area farther from the cliff edge opened in March 2020. Surf from Tropical Storm Darby also broke off a lower section of the arch in 2020. These events help explain the unstable setting, but do not prove what caused the final collapse.
Why do sea arches collapse?
Sea arches are shaped by ongoing coastal erosion. The NPS explains that lava reaching the ocean adds to the coastline; after it cools into rock, wind and water wear at it. Waves fracture cliffs and gradually form caves. Continued wave action can erode through a headland and open an arch. Weaknesses such as fractures, faults, and softer layers can guide this process, but that general geology is not a forensic account of Hōlei’s final failure.
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Erosion continues after an arch forms. If its roof gives way, a pile of rock may remain as a sea stack, which waves and transported sediment can continue to wear down. As the NPS puts it in its sea-arch explainer, “Though they may appear mighty and permanent, individual sea arches are an ephemeral feature of the island’s constantly shifting coastline.”
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Can visitors still see the arch?
The arch has collapsed, and the NPS warns visitors to stay out of closed areas and away from cliff edges. Its release states: “Visitors are required to stay out of closed areas and away from cliff edges which are unstable and can collapse without warning.” The park also identifies falling and drowning hazards along the rough, wave-swept coast.
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The older place page describes a former observation area about 1,000 feet (300 meters) past the gate at the end of Chain of Craters Road. That is historical location information, not confirmation of current access or a safe place to view the former arch. Check current Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park notices before visiting, and follow all closures and posted directions.
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