Why do volcanic islands like Hawaii form in the middle of an ocean plate?
Quick Answer
They form above mantle plumes, or hot spots, where unusually hot rock rises from deep within Earth. As the tectonic plate moves over the hot spot, a chain of islands is created.
The Full Story
Not all volcanoes need plate boundaries. In places such as Hawaii, a relatively stationary hot spot in the mantle feeds magma through the moving Pacific Plate. The result is a line of volcanoes that get older in one direction as the plate carries them away from the source. The Big Island is active today, while older islands and seamounts farther northwest are extinct. This hot-spot track is one of the clearest examples of plate motion recorded by volcanoes.
Key Facts
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