1790 Footprints The 1790 Footprints refer to a set of footprints found near the Kīlauea volcano in present - day Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the island of Hawaii . Resulting from an unusually explosive eruption , they are associated with a series of battles in the area in 1790 . The time of unification . The 1782 Battle of Mokuōhai gave Kamehameha I control of the West and North sides of the island of Hawaiii , but Keōua Kuahuula and his uncle Keawemauhili were able to escape . For a few years , Kamehameha was occupied with Maui and the arrival of Europeans to Kona , Keōua ruled Kaū and Keawemauhili ruled Hilo . Keawemauhili finally recognized Kamehameha as his help . This angered Keōua who raided some of the lands of Kamehameha while he was in Maui at the Battle of Kepaniwai . Keōua then attacked and killed his uncle at Hilo . Kamehameha returned from Maui to the Big Island , and Keōua ambushed them in a thick forest of Paauhau , but the battle was inconclusive ( near coordinates ) . Kamehameha counterattacked and drove Keōua back , in what is known as the " Battle of Koapapaʻa " . Kamehameha had brought a cannon salvaged from the ship " Fair American " captured at Kaūpūlehu . Keōua captured the piece , but did not have gunpowder nor expertise to use it effectively . After heavy losses on both sides , the commanders each decided to retreat to their secure territory . The footprints were thought to have been left by Keōua ' s forces in their retreat . While passing Kīlauea , they made offerings to the goddess Pele and made camp . As the volcano started to erupt , they thought they might have made some offense , so he split his group into three and stayed to make more offerings . Two parties of warriors were overwhelmed by a pyroclastic eruption while crossing the desert . Only one party of three survived the eruption . The footprints were attributed by early geologist Thomas Jaggar to those warriors who were killed in this event . Keōua would be killed later in 1791 at Kawaihae . The Ancient Hawaii ans kept elaborate oral histories , but did not accurately count years from the Christian era . One important event in the oral history was " Ke one helelei " which means " the falling sand " in the Hawaiian Language . This corresponded to an eruption witnessed in 1790 by British sailor John Young . It probably was given the specific name because it was an unusual kind of eruption for Hawaiian volcanoes . Surveyor Frederick S . Lyman used the 1790 date to estimate people ' s birthdates during his 1857 tax assessment . New research . More recent research indicates that some or all of the footprints may in fact be attributable to everyday activities , and not to the war parties . Extensive surveys were done in 1998 and 2000 including radiocarbon dating the few samples of charcoal that could be found . A large number of habitation sites and trails were counted , indicating the area was in use for hundreds of years during the eruption cycle of 1500 to 1790 . Modern forensic techniques applied in 2008 determined that many of the footprints were made by women and children , not warriors . They were probably already in the area chipping off sharp chunks of glass to use as tools , and left the footprints while escaping during a lull in the eruption . Keōua ' s groups , however , were at the summit , and some were killed instantly by the following blast of poison gas , not by the actual falling of the ash . Although sometimes called " fossilized " , the imprints are not old enough to be true fossils . The fine ash was probably made into thick mud by a rain triggered in the eruption , which then quickly solidified in the tropical sun and was preserved in the arid desert . Recognition . The footprints were found accidentally by geologist Ruy H . Finch in the hardened ash of the Kaʻū Desert . He was trying to investigate a 1919 eruption that produced " Mauna Iki " ( small mountain ) . Although the National Park had been formed by then , these lands were owned by the Territory of Hawaii . In 1938 the area was proposed as a bombing practice range , resulting in protest from conservation groups . On June 20 , 1938 the Federal Government bought the land to add to the park , with the bombing range limited to four and a half square miles . The Army never used the land , but the Navy caused some injuries to fishermen in 1945 . In June 1950 the bombing range was returned to the park after being cleared of unexploded ordnance . In 1941 the Civilian Conservation Corps built a trail and shelter . It is Hawaii state archaeological site number 10 - 61 - 5505 , and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on August 7 , 1974 as site number 74000351 . To access the area , park southwest of the park headquarters on the Hawaii Belt Road , State Highway 11 . From this trailhead ( coordinates ) the " Footprints Trail " leads about a mile southeast to the area . For a longer hike , start at the " Kaū Desert " trailhead on " Crater Rim Drive " at coordinates . and hike for about five miles ( 8 km ) through the area . These trails or roads might be closed during high levels of volcanic activity ; check conditions in advance .