1790 Footprints
9.1 mi. SW of park headquarters on Hwy. 11, then foot trail to SE for 1 mi., Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, HIFossil footprints of Hawaiian men, women, and children, some walking and some running, with hoofprints of Polynesian hogs, are in a cementlike layer of volcanic ash laid down during the 1790 explosive eruption of Kilauea volcano. The prints are believed to be those left by the Warriors, with their families and animals, who served ruling chief Keoua Kuahu'ula. The chief and his company crossed the summit area of the volcano during the eruption en route to battle with the warriors of Kamehameha the Great.
Local significance of the site:Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.