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Hawaii’s Hōlei Sea Arch, a 27.4-metre-high lava rock formation believed to have formed about 550 years ago, has collapsed into the Pacific Ocean, according to the BBC.
The arch stood on the coast of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. The National Park Service said it was visible on 23 September but gone by 27 September. The exact time of the collapse is not known.
Why did the sea arch collapse?
The National Park Service said the coastline around the arch had shown signs of instability for years. The formation is believed to have fallen during the park’s temporary closure amid Tropical Storm Nolo last weekend.
Earthquakes associated with the 2018 Kīlauea volcano eruption and summit collapse had damaged cliffs near the arch, the service said. Waves from a tropical storm later that year also broke off a section of rock at the base of the formation.
A popular visitor destination
Located at the end of Chain of Craters Road on Hawaii’s Big Island, the arch was a popular tourist destination and a frequent subject of photographs.
In January 2020, new cracks and signs of instability led park officials to close the original viewing area. A new viewing point opened several months later at a safer distance.
The National Park Service warned in 2021 that the arch would eventually crumble into the sea, adding that other formations would take its place as the cliff gradually moves inland.
