Earth Sciences

True.

sea mounts

The Hawaiian islands were formed by volcanoes. Volcanoes have two methods of formation, convergence of tectonic plates at the edges of the plates, and hot spots under the middle of plates. The Hawaiian islands and others in that area were formed when magma from the mantle rose to Earth's surface through a certain spot in the middle of the plate (i.e., the Pacific Plate for the Hawaiian Islands). This hot spot is situated beneath the center of the plate, and the volcano above moves with the plate as it moves, but the hot spot stays in place. This causes the original volcano to become extinct when its move cuts it off from its magma source and an island is born. A new volcano will then form above the hot spot again. This process repeats as the plate moves and a string of volcanoes (and eventually, islands) will dot the surface of the plate as the movement continues away from the hot spot.