List of volcanoes in the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain
Introduction The Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain. The two straight sections, the Emperor and Hawaiian strands, are separated by a large L-shaped bend at the Northwestern Hawaiian islands.The Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain is a series of volcanoes and seamounts extending about  across the Pacific Ocean.The chain was produced by the movement of the ocean crust over the Hawaii hotspot, an upwelling of hot rock from the Earth's mantle.As the oceanic crust moves the volcanoes farther away from their source of magma, their eruptions become less frequent and less powerful until they eventually cease to erupt altogether. At that point, erosion of the volcano and subsidence of the seafloor cause the volcano to gradually diminish.As the volcano sinks and erodes, it first becomes an atoll island and then an atoll. Further subsidence causes the volcano to sink below the sea surface, becoming a seamount. Once a seamount is 600 metres or more under the surface, it is also classed as a guyot. This list documents the most significant volcanoes in the chain, ordered by distance from the hotspot, but there are many others that have yet to be properly studied.The chain can be divided into three subsections. The first, the main windward Hawaiian islands consist of the eight youngest and easternmost Hawaiian islands. This is the youngest part of the chain and includes volcanoes with ages ranging from 400,000 years to 5.1 million years. The island of Hawaii comprises five volcanoes, of which two (Kilauea and Mauna Loa) are still active. Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount (formerly Lōihi) continues to grow offshore, and is the only known volcano in the chain in the submarine pre-shield stage.The second part of the chain is composed of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, collectively referred to as the ''Leeward isles'', the constituents of which are between 7.2 and 27.7 million years old. Erosion has long since overtaken volcanic activity at these islands, and most of them are atolls, atoll islands, and extinct islands. They contain many of the most northerly atolls in the world, including Kure Atoll, ''the'' northernmost atoll in the world.The oldest and most heavily eroded part of the chain are the Emperor seamounts, which are 39 to 85 million years old.The Emperor and Hawaiian chains are separated by a large L-shaped bend that causes the orientations of the chains to differ by about 60 degrees. This bend was long attributed to a relatively sudden change in the direction of plate motion, but research conducted in 2003 suggests that it was the movement of the hotspot itself that caused the bend. The issue is still currently under debate.All of the volcanoes in this part of the chain have long since subsided below sea level, becoming seamounts and guyots (see also the seamount and guyot stages of Hawaiian volcanism). Many of the volcanoes are named after former emperors of Japan. The seamount chain extends to the West Pacific, and terminates at the Kuril–Kamchatka Trench, a subduction zone at the border of Russia.
Hawaiian archipelago  Name Island Last eruption Coordinates Age (years) Notes Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount (formerly Lōihi) Seamount    The seamount is a submarine volcano approximately  southeast of Hawaii. It may eventually breach sea level and become the newest Hawaiian island. Kīlauea Big Island 2021–ongoing (active)   Kīlauea is considered one of the most active volcanoes on Earth. Kīlauea, was in near-continuous eruption on its East Rift Zone from January 3, 1983, to September 4, 2018, making it the longest-lived rift-zone eruption of the last six centuries. Mauna Loa Big Island    Largest subaerial volcano on Earth Hualālai Big Island 1800–   Lies on the western edge of the Big Island Mauna Kea Big Island    World's tallest mountain if below-sea elevation is counted Kohala Big Island    Oldest volcano that remains part of the island of Hawaii Māhukona Seamount    Submerged, having long since disappeared into the sea Haleakalā Maui     Forms more than 75% of Maui West Maui Maui    Very eroded shield volcano that makes up the western quarter of Maui Kahoolawe Kahoolawe    Smallest of the 8 principal Hawaiian islands; uninhabited Lānai Lānai    Sixth-largest island The only town is Lānaʻi City, a small settlement. East Molokai Molokai    The northern half of this volcano suffered a large collapse 1.5 million years ago. Only the southern half remains above the sea today. West Molokai Molokai     Penguin Bank Seamount   The seamount is a submarine volcano, southwest of Molokai. The submarine volcano used to be part of Maui Nui, a prehistoric island made from seven shield volcanoes. Koolau Range Oahu    A fragmented remnant of the eastern or windward shield volcano, which also suffered a large collapse sometime before the Molokai collapse Waianae Range Oahu    The eroded remains of a shield volcano that comprised the western half of the island Kaena Ridge Oahu    The eroded remains of a shield volcano west of Waianae that has since subsided below sea level Kaʻula Kaʻula    Tiny crescent-shaped barren island; uninhabited except for divers and fishermen Niihau Niihau    Smallest inhabited island; Kauai Kauai    Oldest and fourth largest of the main islands, and home to Mount Waialeale, one of the wettest areas on Earth in terms of precipitation
Northwestern Hawaiian islands  Name Type Coordinates Age Notes Unnamed seamount Guyot   at a depth of  below sea level Nihoa Extinct Island   Small rocky island which supported a small population around 1000 CE; features over 80 cultural sites, including religious places, agricultural terraces, and burial caves Unnamed seamount Guyot   at a depth of  below sea level Unnamed seamount Guyot   at a depth of  below sea level Unnamed seamount Guyot   at a depth of  below sea level Unnamed seamount Guyot   at a depth of  below sea level Unnamed seamount Guyot   at a depth of  below sea level Necker Island Extinct Island   Small deserted island with Hawaiian religious shrines and artifacts French Frigate Shoals Atoll   Largest atoll in the northwestern Hawaiian islands East Brooks Bank Guyot   at a depth of  below sea level Central Brooks Bank Guyot   at a depth of  below sea level West Brooks Bank Guyot   at a depth of  below sea level Saint Rogatien Bank Guyot   at a depth of  below sea level Gardner Pinnacles Atoll Island   Two barren rock outcrops surrounded by a reef Raita Bank Guyot   at a depth of  below sea level Maro Reef Atoll   Largest coral reef of the northwestern Hawaiian islands Laysan Atoll Island   Originally named "Kauō" meaning egg, referring to its shape, and home to one of only five natural lakes in all of Hawaii Unnamed seamount Guyot   at a depth of  below sea level Northampton Seamount Guyot   at a depth of  below sea level Unnamed seamount Guyot   at a depth of  below sea level Pioneer Tablemount Guyot   at a depth of  below sea level Lisianski Island Atoll Island   A small island surrounded by a huge coral reef nearly the size of Oahu; named after a captain in the Russian navy whose ship ran aground there in 1805 Unnamed seamount Guyot   at a depth of  below sea level Unnamed seamounts Guyot   pair of guyots at a depth of  and  below sea level Unnamed seamount Guyot   at a depth of  below sea level Salmon Bank Guyot   at a depth of  below sea level Pearl and Hermes Atoll Atoll Island   A collection of small, sandy islands, with a lagoon and coral reef; named after two whaling ships which were wrecked on the reef in 1822 Unnamed seamount Guyot   at a depth of  below sea level Ladd Seamount Guyot   at a depth of  below sea level Midway Atoll Atoll Island   Consists of a ring-shaped barrier reef and two large islets; named "Midway" because of its strategic location in the center of the Pacific Ocean, and was the site of a key battle during World War II Nero Seamount Guyot   at a depth of  below sea level Kure Atoll Atoll   Northernmost coral atoll in the world
Emperor seamounts  Name Type Summit Depth Coordinates Age Notes East Windward Guyot     Academician Berg Guyot     West Windward Guyot     Helsley Guyot    Named after Charles Helsley, a researcher at the University of Hawaii. Also named Zapadnaya Seamount. East Townsend Cromwell Seamount     Townsend Cromwell Seamount    Named after Townsend Cromwell, a prominent oceanographer. Hancock Seamount     De Veuster Seamount    possibly named after Father Damien (born Jozef De Veuster), a Roman Catholic Priest in Hawaii during the late 19th century. Colahan Seamount     Abbott Seamount     Daikakuji Guyot    Located at the bend in the L-shaped chain of seamounts. Also the name of a Japanese temple Kammu Guyot    Named after Emperor Kammu, former ruler of Japan (781–806) Yuryaku Guyot    Named after Emperor Yūryaku, former ruler of Japan (~456–479) Goshirakawa Guyot    Named after Emperor Go-Shirakawa, former ruler of Japan (1155–1158) Gosanjo Guyot    Named after Emperor Go-Sanjō, former ruler of Japan (1068–1073) Toba Guyot    Named after Emperor Toba, former ruler of Japan (1107–1123) Genji Seamount    Named after Hikaru Genji, the protagonist of the classic Japanese work, The Tale of Genji. Kimmei Seamount    Named after Emperor Kimmei, former ruler of Japan (539–571) Unnamed Seamount Seamount    Koko Guyot    Named after Emperor Kōkō, former ruler of Japan (884–887) Unnamed Guyot Guyot     Ojin Guyot    Named after Emperor Ōjin, former ruler of Japan (~270–310) Jingu Guyot    Named after Empress Jingū, former ruler of Japan (~201–269) Nintoku Guyot    Named after Emperor Nintoku, former ruler of Japan (~313–399) Ninigi Seamount    Named after Ninigi-no-Mikoto, a god in Japanese mythology. Godaigo Seamount    Named after Emperor Go-Daigo, former ruler of Japan (1318–1339) Yomei Guyot    Named after Emperor Yōmei, former ruler of Japan (540–587) Showa Guyot    Named after Hirohito (Emperor Shōwa), former ruler of Japan (1926–1989) Soga Guyot    Named after Emperor Saga, former ruler of Japan (809–823) Suiko Seamount    Named after Empress Suiko, former ruler of Japan (592–628) Winnebago Guyot      Tenji Guyot     Named after Emperor Tenji, former ruler of Japan (661–672) Detroit Seamount    Well-documented seamount, second-oldest. Rock from lava flows show that while Detroit Seamount was on the hotspot, activity coming from the volcano continued for the next 18 million years. Meiji Seamount    Named after Emperor Meiji, former ruler of Japan (1867–1912); oldest known seamount in the chain
Notes
References
External links *This abstract contains preliminary data for several of the seamount dates; these dates are revised in the subsequent paper (as reported above):**