page_title: Hawaii (island)
section_title: Great Crack
hierarchical_section_title: Hawaii (island) / Geology and geography / Great Crack
caption_attribution_description: Pāhoehoe Lava is entering Pacific at The Big Island of Hawai, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Photograped by Brocken Inaglory in April of 2005.
context_page_description: Hawaiʻi is the largest island located in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is the largest and the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of 4,028 square miles, it has 63% of the Hawaiian archipelago's combined landmass, and is the largest island in the United States. However, it has only 13% of Hawaiʻi's people. The island of Hawaiʻi is the third largest island in Polynesia, behind the two main islands of New Zealand.
  The island is often referred to as the Island of Hawaiʻi, the Big Island, or Hawaiʻi Island to distinguish it from the state. Administratively, the whole island encompasses Hawaiʻi County.
  As of the 2010 Census the population was 185,079. The county seat and largest city is Hilo. There are no incorporated cities in Hawaiʻi County.
context_section_description: The Great Crack is an eight-mile-long (13,000 m), 60-foot-wide (18 m) and 60-foot-deep (18 m) fissure in the island, in the district of Kau. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Great Crack is the result of crustal dilation from magmatic intrusions into the southwest rift zone of Kilauea. While neither the earthquake of 1868 nor that of 1975 caused a measurable change in the Great Crack, lava welled out of the lower 6 miles (10 km) of the Great Crack in 1823.
  Visitors can find trails, rock walls, and archaeological sites from as old as the 12th century around the Great Crack. Approximately 1,951 acres (790 ha) of private land were purchased during the presidency of Bill Clinton, specifically to protect various artifacts in this area, as well as the habitat of local wildlife.
caption: Lava entering the Pacific at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in April 2005, increasing the size of the island
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