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Scientists are not sure what creates hotspots or what their exact nature is. However, most agree that a hotspot created the Hawaiian islands.
The outer layer of the earth, the crust, is divided into plates, which move relative to each other and over the next lower layer, the mantle. The hotspot exists in the mantle and is stationary while the crustal plates move over it.
The hotspot heats magma and causes it to erupt through the surface of the crust, at which point it is called lava. At first this happens deep under the ocean. When the lava meets the ocean water, which is much colder, it cools and solidifies to form rock. A new undersea volcano called Lo'ihi southeast of Hawai'i has just passed this stage.
This rock piles up to great heights (higher from the ocean floor than Mt. Everest rises above the ocean surface). Eventually it breaks the ocean surface and creates a new island. The lava continues to erupt, and cools when it comes in contact with the air (which is also much cooler than the lava). The rock continues to pile up to a great height above sea level and to create a large island. The island of Hawai'i, the Big Island, is still growing in this stage.
Already as soon as the island breaks the surface of the ocean, other forces are working against its growth. Waves from the ocean and rivers created by rainfall begin to break away the rocks and tumble them back into the ocean. It also tends to slump under its own huge weight.
Eventually the movement of the crust carries the island away from the hotspot. Eruptions slow, and the forces working to erode the island work faster than the lava can build it up. Then the island stops growing and starts shrinking. Maui is at this stage. It still has rare eruptions, but is slowly losing height and area.
When the island moves further from the hotspot, eruptions stop completely while it continues shrinking. O'ahu, Kaua'i, and Ni'ihau, and a few more tiny islands in the Hawai'ian chain are at this stage.
Eventually, the island falls back to sea level. However, coral reefs that surrounded the island remain at or near sea level. Coral is a biological organism that can grow as fast as the island sinks. As the island sinks, coral can build on top of the skeletons of older reefs. However, coral can't grow out of the water, so the island can't regrow to much above sea level. Islands at this stage are called atolls and are often ring-shaped, resembling the shape of a reef that used to surround a circular island. Midway is an example of an atoll. Though is is very distant from the state of Hawai'i, it is geologically part of the Hawai'ian island chain, and was formed by the same hotspot.
Eventually the island sinks below sea level. At this point, it is called a seamount. It resembles a mountain with its base at the seafloor, but its peak below sea level. A chain of seamounts continue northwest from the last island of the Hawai'ian chain. Then the chain turns more toward northward, where it is called the Emperor Seamount Chain. These seamounts reach almost to the coast of Russia.
What else can I help you with?
Were can you find a hotspot volcano?
Hotspot volcanoes are usually found away from tectonic plate boundaries, such as the Hawaiian Islands or Yellowstone National Park. These volcanoes are a result of mantle plumes that rise through the Earth's crust, creating volcanic activity in the middle of a tectonic plate.
Are the hawaiian islands formed at a subduction boundary?
No, the Hawaiian Islands are not formed at a subduction boundary. They are formed by a hotspot in the Earth's mantle, where magma rises to the surface and creates volcanic islands as the tectonic plate moves over the hotspot.
What is a example of volcanic hotspot?
An example of a volcanic hotspot is the Hawaiian Islands. The hot spot underneath the Pacific Plate creates a chain of volcanic islands, with active volcanoes like Kilauea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii. As the Pacific Plate moves northwestward over the hotspot, new islands form while older ones become extinct and erode.
What is the difference between hotspot volcanoes and volcanoes formed at plate boundaries?
Hotspot volcanoes form over a fixed hotspot in the mantle, resulting in a chain of volcanoes as the tectonic plate moves over it, like the Hawaiian Islands. Volcanoes at plate boundaries are formed by the interaction of tectonic plates, where one plate is forced under another (subduction) or plates move apart (divergence), creating volcanic activity along the boundary, like the Ring of Fire.
The Hawaiian islands has what type of plate boundary?
The Hawaiian Islands are located over a hotspot, where a tectonic plate moves over a stationary mantle plume. This is not a plate boundary, but rather a volcanic hotspot chain that has formed the Hawaiian Islands as the Pacific Plate moves slowly over it.
How have volcanoes helped to create hawaiian islands?
Hawaiian Islands were formed by volcanic activity as a tectonic plate moved over a hotspot, creating a chain of volcanoes. As the plate moved, new volcanoes emerged from the hotspot, each contributing to the growth of the islands over millions of years. The lava flows and eruptions from these volcanoes built up the landmass of the Hawaiian Islands.
Were can hotspot volcanoes be located?
The most famous hot spot volcano is Hawaii as all the Hawaiian islands were formed by them.
The hawaiian islands are a chain of volcanoes how are volcanoes like these formed?
The Hawaiian Islands were formed by a hotspot underneath the Earth's crust, where magma rises to the surface and creates volcanoes. As tectonic plates move over the hotspot, new volcanoes form, creating a chain of islands. Over time, the older volcanoes erode and subside, while new ones continue to grow, extending the chain.
The formation of the Hawaiian Islands is associated with what kind of boundary?
The formation of the Hawaiian Islands is associated with a hotspot boundary. A hotspot is a location where magma rises to the surface through the mantle, creating a volcanic island chain, like the Hawaiian Islands.
The hawaiian islands were formed by volcanoes these islands are found in what ocean?
The Hawaiian Islands were formed by volcanic activity and are located in the central Pacific Ocean. They are situated about 2,400 miles from the nearest continental landmass, making them one of the most isolated archipelagos in the world. The islands are a result of the Hawaiian hotspot, where magma from deep within the Earth's mantle rises to create volcanoes.
What are the ages of hotspot volcanoes relative to each other?
Hotspot volcanoes vary significantly in age, typically forming a chain where the oldest volcano is furthest from the hotspot's current location. As the tectonic plate moves over a stationary hotspot, new volcanoes are created, resulting in a sequence that shows a gradient of ages. For example, the Hawaiian Islands exhibit this pattern, with the Big Island being the youngest and the older islands like Kauai and Niihau showing progressively greater ages. This age progression reflects the movement of the Pacific Plate over the fixed Hawaiian hotspot.
What are Four areas on earth where spot volcaoes exist?
Spot volcanoes, also known as "hotspot volcanoes," exist in several notable areas on Earth. One prominent example is the Hawaiian Islands, formed by the Hawaiian hotspot in the middle of the Pacific Plate. Another area is Yellowstone National Park in the United States, which sits atop a large hotspot. Other notable hotspot regions include Iceland, located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and the Galápagos Islands, where the Galápagos hotspot is located.
Are Hawaiian volcanoes cinder cones?
No. The Hawaiian islands are shield volcanoes.
How where the hawain islands formed?
The Hawaiian Islands were formed by volcanic activity originating from a hotspot in the Earth's mantle beneath the Pacific tectonic plate. As the plate moved northwest over the hotspot, a series of volcanoes formed, creating the islands. As the plate continued to move, new islands formed in the chain, with the oldest islands towards the northwest and the youngest towards the southeast.
How have volcanoes helped to create the Hawaiian islands?
Volcanoes shot out magma which cooled down to make the Hawaiian Islands.
Were can you find a hotspot volcano?
Hotspot volcanoes are usually found away from tectonic plate boundaries, such as the Hawaiian Islands or Yellowstone National Park. These volcanoes are a result of mantle plumes that rise through the Earth's crust, creating volcanic activity in the middle of a tectonic plate.
Are the hawaiian islands formed at a subduction boundary?
No, the Hawaiian Islands are not formed at a subduction boundary. They are formed by a hotspot in the Earth's mantle, where magma rises to the surface and creates volcanic islands as the tectonic plate moves over the hotspot.
