Waikoloa Beach is an area located on the South Kohala

Kohala, Hawaii

thumb|right|300px|The districts of the [[Hawaii |Big Island]]. From Northernmost, clockwise; Kohala , [[Hamakua|Hāmākua]], [[Hilo, Hawaii|Hilo]], [[Puna, Hawaii|Puna]], [[Kau, Hawaii|Kaū]], [[Kona District, Hawaii|Kona]]...

 coast on the island of Hawaii

Hawaii (island)

The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...

 and is located in the census-designated place

Census-designated place

A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...

 of Puako. It can be confused for Waikoloa Village, a CDP in the same "ahupuaʻa" and is also known as "Waikoloa".

The area is home to many notable cultural and geologic features of the ancient Hawaiian culture including aquaculture

Aquaculture

Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...

 fishponds, anchialine ponds and petroglyphs.

Ala Kahakai

Ala Kahakai or “trail by the sea” is the name for the ancient pathway that runs along the coastline in the Waikoloa area that linked important entities in the Hawaiian culture including communities, temples, fishing areas, etc. The Wikoloa Ala Kahakai, estimated to be 175 miles (281.6 km) long, is commonly called “King’s Trail".

Anaehoomalu Bay

Anaehoʻomalu, also known as "A Bay" is best known for its sunsets, snorkeling and its historical significance in Hawaiian culture. Waikoloa Beach is in Anaehoʻomalu Bay at the southernmost point of the Waikoloa area.

Anchialine Ponds

The anchialine ponds of Waikoloa were part of Hawaiian culture and were preserved in 1985 as the Waikoloa Anchialine Pond Preservation Area maintained by the University of Hawaii

University of Hawaii

The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...

. The brackish water

Brackish water

Brackish water is water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing of seawater with fresh water, as in estuaries, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers. The word comes from the Middle Dutch root "brak," meaning "salty"...

 lava pools located just at the coastline are fed by both freshwater springs from rain water and sea water making the ponds a unique microclimate

Microclimate

A microclimate is a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square feet or as large as many square miles...

 suitable for a various small fishes, crustacean

Crustacean

Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...

s, mollusks and tiny red shrimp

Shrimp

Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...

.

Kuualii and Kahapapa Fishponds

The Kuualii and Kahapapa Fishponds are located just behind the Waikoloa Beach in Anaehoomalu bay. Historically, it is understood that Anaeho’omalu was a center of thriving aquaculture. The two ponds were part of complex of fish farms, carefully tended by ancient Hawaiian people.

Hilton Waikoloa Village

The Hilton Waikoloa Village is built on 62 acres (250,905.3 m²) and has 1240 rooms and suites with tropical gardens, waterfalls, lagoons and waterways. It was originally developed in 1988 as the Hyatt Regency Waikoloa, however was sold to Hilton in 2002. The Hilton Waikoloa Village recently unveiled the new Dolphin Quest Village. The popular game show Wheel of Fortune

Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)

Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...

 has taped at the resort in the past, most recently in 2008.

Petroglyphs

There are many historically significant petroglyphs or stone carvings in the Waikoloa. There are potentially the closest thing to a written language that Hawaiians used. The petroglyphs are thought to be astronomical symbols

Astronomical symbols

Astronomical symbols are symbols used to represent various celestial objects, theoretical constructs and observational events in astronomy. The earliest forms of these symbols appear in Greek papyri of late antiquity. The Byzantine codices in which the Greek papyri were preserved continued and...

.