Hilo () is the second-largest CDP in the State of Hawaii and the largest settlement on the island of Hawaii with a population of 40,759 during the 2000 census.

Hilo is the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaii, and is in the South Hilo District. The town overlooks Hilo Bay.

Hilo is near two shield volcanoes
 Mauna Loa, an active volcano, and
 Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano
Some of the best ground-based astronomical observatories are on Mauna Kea.

Hilo is home to the University of Hawaii at Hilo, as well as the Merrie Monarch Festival, a week-long celebration of ancient and modern hula, which takes place every year after Easter. It is also home to the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation, one of the world's leading producers of macadamia nuts. It is served by Hilo International Airport, inside the CDP.

History

Although there is not much archaeological evidence, people lived in the areas along Hilo Bay, Wailuku and Wailoa Rivers before the Western world made contact. They were known as the Hilo. They dominated the high mountaintops until the middle 1800s.  Hilo means high mountaintop in the original language of the native peoples who lived on the mountaintops. King Kamehameha, the first king of Hawaii, conquered all the islands and then moved the Hilo mountain settlement to the shore after the arrival of outsiders.

Originally, the name Hilo applied to the whole district of Hilo, now divided into South Hilo District and North Hilo District.  When William Ellis visited in 1823, the main settlement in Hilo district was Waiākea on Hilo Bay.  Missionaries came to the district in the early to middle 1800s, founding several churches, notably Haili Church, in the area of modern Hilo.

Hilo expanded as sugar plantations in the surrounding area created new jobs and drew in many workers from Asia, making the city a trading center.

A breakwater across Hilo Bay was begun in the 1900s and completed in 1929. On April 1, 1946, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake near the Aleutian Islands created a fourteen-meter high tsunami that hit Hilo 4.9 hours later, killing 160 people. In response an early warning system, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, was established in 1949 to track these killer waves and provide warning.  This tsunami also meant the end of the Hawaii Consolidated Railway, and instead the Hawaii Belt Road was built north of Hilo using some of the railbed.

On May 23, 1960, another tsunami, caused by a 9.5 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Chile the previous day, claimed 61 lives allegedly due to people's failure to heed warning sirens. Low-lying bayfront areas of the city on Waiākea peninsula and along Hilo Bay, previously populated, were rededicated as parks and memorials.

Geography and climate

Hilo is at  (19.705520, -155.085918).

Hilo is classified by the United States Census Bureau as a census-designated place (CDP), and has a total area of ,  of which is land and  of which (7.10%) is water.

Hilo features a tropical rainforest climate (Koppen Af), with substantial rainfall throughout the course of the year. Hilo's location on the eastern side of the island of Hawaii (windward relative to the trade winds) makes it the wettest city in the United States and one of the wettest cities in the world. An average of around  of rain fell at Hilo International Airport annually between 1971–2000, with 275 days of the year receiving some rain. At some other weather stations in Hilo the annual rainfall is above .

Monthly average temperatures range from  in January to  in August. The highest recorded temperature was  on May 20, 1996, and the lowest  on February 21, 1962. The wettest year was 1994 with  and the driest year was 1983 with .  The most rainfall in one month was  in December 1954.  The most rainfall in 24 hours was  on November 2, 2000.

Hilo's location on the shore of the funnel-shaped Hilo Bay also makes it vulnerable to tsunamis.

Education 

There are many educational institutions in Hilo. Some of these are the University of Hawaii at Hilo and Hawaii Community College.

Culture
 East Hawaii Cultural Center
 Hilo Art Museum
 Lyman Museum
 Pacific Tsunami Museum

Notable natives and residents

 Rodney Anoa'i
 Keiko Bonk
 Ed Case
 Titus Coan
 Wesley Correira
 David McHattie Forbes

 Harry Kim
 High Chiefess Kapiolani
 Alii Nui Keōua Kuahuula
 High Chiefess Kinoole o liliha
 Robert Kiyosaki
 George Lycurgus

 Troy Mandaloniz
 Gerald Okamura
 BJ Penn
 Benjamin Pitman
 Bob Shane
 William Herbert Shipman

Points of interest

 Banyan Drive
 Coconut Island
 East Hawaii Cultural Center
 Haili Church
 Hilo Tropical Gardens
 Hilo Art Museum
 Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii
 Kalakaua Park
 Liliuokalani Park and Gardens
 Lyman Museum
 Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation
 Mokupāpapa Discovery Center for Northwestern Hawaii's remote coral reefs
 Nani Mau Gardens
 Naha Stone (associated with Kamehameha I) in front of the Hilo Public Library
 Onomea Bay Scenic Drive
 Pacific Tsunami Museum
 Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo
 Prince Kuhio Plaza
 Rainbow Falls (Waianuenue) & Boiling Pots on the Wailuku River
 University of Hawaii at Hilo Botanical Gardens
 Wailoa River State Recreation Area with King Kamehameha Statue

References

Other websites
 Hilo Downtown Improvement Association 
 Pacific Tsunami Museum
 `Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai`i

 
County seats in Hawaii