Known as Lēʻahi in Hawaiian, the mountain in 1825 was given the name Diamond Hill by British sailors who discovered sparkling volcanic calcite crystals in the sand and mistook them for diamonds.
This is reflected in another local name, Kaimana Hila.
The name later became Diamond Head, with head being shortened from headland.

The interior and adjacent exterior areas were the home to Fort Ruger, the first United States military reservation on Hawaii.
Only Battery 407, a National Guard emergency operations center, and Birkhimer Tunnel, the Hawaii State Civil Defense Headquarters (HI-EMA), remain in use in the crater.
An FAA air traffic control center was in operation from 1963 to 2007.
Known as Lēʻahi in Hawaiian, the mountain in 1825 was given the name Diamond Hill by British sailors who discovered sparkling volcanic calcite crystals in the sand and mistook them for diamonds. This is reflected in another local name, Kaimana Hila. The name later became Diamond Head, with head being shortened from headland.
The interior and adjacent exterior areas were the home to Fort Ruger, the first United States military reservation on Hawaii. Only Battery 407, a National Guard emergency operations center, and Birkhimer Tunnel, the Hawaii State Civil Defense Headquarters (HI-EMA), remain in use in the crater. An FAA air traffic control center was in operation from 1963 to 2007.
Diamond Head, Hawaii