Keāhole Point is the westernmost point of the island of Hawaiʻi. The Kona International Airport was moved here from directly north of the town of Kailua-Kona in 1970, when the previous smaller airstrip was converted into the Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area. The name comes from Ke āhole since the āhole fish (Kuhlia sandvicensis) was found nearby.John R. K. Clark, Hawaii Place Names: Shores, Beaches, and Surf Sites, published by University of Hawaii Press, 2002,
Between the airport and the coast lies the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii. Most of the land was formed in 1801 by the Huehue lava flow from Hualālai. This flow extended the shoreline out an estimated 1 mile, adding some 4 km2 of land to the island.https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/1997/97_07_25.html Fishponds versus lava flows, USGS, 1997 The southern part of this point is sometimes referred to as Kalihi Point.Juvik and Juvik editors, 1998, Atlas of Hawaii, University of Hawaii Press, USGS Big Island Map by Edward W. Wolfe and Jean Morris
The Ahupuaa (ancient name of the community in this area) was Kalaoa, still used by the census. The site includes a house platform, a walled enclosure, a debris pile with volcanic glass and marine shells, and a larger wall.Ross Cordy, on National Register of Historic Places web site Probably the home of a common family, an excavation in 1975 estimated occupation from about 1500 to 1800.Ross Cordy, "A Study of Prehistoric Social Change: The Development of Complex Societies in the Hawaiian Islands". Academic Press, New York On January 14, 1989, the Kalaoa Permanent House Site was put on the state register of historic places as site number 10-27-10,205.List of Historic Places in Hawaii County on Hawaii State web site On November 21, 1992, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places as site number 92001552. It was described as site 81 in a 1930 survey by Reinecke,John E. Reinecke, 1930, Survey of Hawaiian Sites from Kailua, Kona, to Kalahuipuaa, Kohala, Bishop Museum, OCLC Number 11538969 and site 8 in a 1975 survey by Rosendahl & Kirch,Paul H. Rosendahl, Archaeological reconnaissance survey of the Keahole Point Natural Energy Laboratory site, North Kona, Hawaii and site HA-D15-12 on a state survey. Just south of this area is the area known as Ooma.
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