University of Hawaii at Hilo - Location and Environment

Location and Environment

The University is located in the town of Hilo, on the east side of Hawaiʻi Island, about 200 nautical miles (400 km) from Honolulu. The town of Hilo offers a diverse, low-density population of about 45,000. Within ten minutes of the main campus are shopping malls, theaters, and restaurants, as well as a major harbor and the Hilo International Airport.

Hilo is set against Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, two of the five volcanoes which form Hawaiʻi Island, and the Pacific Ocean. With over 4,028 square miles (10,400 km2) of varying geography, there are more distinctive climate zones and ecosystem types on Hawaiʻi Island than anywhere else in the State of Hawaiʻi. The island of Hawaiʻi offers snow-capped mountains, deserts, dormant and active volcanoes, lava flows, thick rainforests, numerous rivers, waterfalls, green pastures, and coastal reefs which drop off into deep ocean. The University designs many of its programs for hands-on learning in the living laboratory surrounding the school.

Tropical foliage and numerous botanical gardens are located throughout the Hilo area, in addition to those on campus. Trade winds bring abundant rains, occasionally heavy, with most of the precipitation tending to fall at night. Daytime temperatures average near 80°F (26.6°C) with night time temperatures seldom falling below 65°F (18.3°C). Due to regular rainfall, there are numerous covered walkways located between most of the buildings throughout UH Hilo's main campus.

The economy of Hawaiʻi Island is still in transition following the demise of the sugar industry in the 1990s. Agriculture is diversifying; tourism is growing to include eco-tourism and edu-tourism; and astronomy facilities continue to develop an ever-larger scholarly and technical community to support the world renowned observatories atop Mauna Kea.