Subject of study:
The subject of study is the formation of the Hawaiian archipelago. The island chain is comprised of a string of volcanic islands, seamounts of igneous rock of which the largest, Hawaii, reaches from its base on the ocean floor to rise above the ocean to rival the height of the tallest mountain, Mt. Everest.
The smaller and extinct volcanos of the Hawaiian chain are located at successively greater distances from the currently active volcano and younger, Kilauea on the largest and most southerly island, Hawaii. Also, a new volcano, Loihi, has formed off the southeastern coast of the island of Hawaii and Loihi appears to follow the trend of volcano formation in the chain – with the more recently formed volcanoes breaking through the earth’s crust and building up to form the archipelago from the oldest in the northwest and descending toward the southeast where the two most recently active volcanoes in the chain, Mauna Lea and Kilauea are located. …show more content…
Thus, volcanoes can be found along tectonic plate boundaries. However, Hawaii is not located at tectonic plate boundaries, but in the north central part of the Pacific plate. As with all tectonic plates, the Pacific plate has a predominant direction of flow as it floats over the viscous mantle of the earth and is moving in a northwesterly direction at a rate of 7 to 11 centimeters
The subject of study is the formation of the Hawaiian archipelago. The island chain is comprised of a string of volcanic islands, seamounts of igneous rock of which the largest, Hawaii, reaches from its base on the ocean floor to rise above the ocean to rival the height of the tallest mountain, Mt. Everest.
The smaller and extinct volcanos of the Hawaiian chain are located at successively greater distances from the currently active volcano and younger, Kilauea on the largest and most southerly island, Hawaii. Also, a new volcano, Loihi, has formed off the southeastern coast of the island of Hawaii and Loihi appears to follow the trend of volcano formation in the chain – with the more recently formed volcanoes breaking through the earth’s crust and building up to form the archipelago from the oldest in the northwest and descending toward the southeast where the two most recently active volcanoes in the chain, Mauna Lea and Kilauea are located. …show more content…
Thus, volcanoes can be found along tectonic plate boundaries. However, Hawaii is not located at tectonic plate boundaries, but in the north central part of the Pacific plate. As with all tectonic plates, the Pacific plate has a predominant direction of flow as it floats over the viscous mantle of the earth and is moving in a northwesterly direction at a rate of 7 to 11 centimeters