<P> The Hawaii hotspot is a volcanic hotspot located near the namesake Hawaiian Islands , in the northern Pacific Ocean . One of the most well - known and heavily studied hotspots in the world , the Hawaii plume is responsible for the creation of the Hawaiian -- Emperor seamount chain , a chain of volcanoes over 5,800 kilometres ( 3,600 mi ) long . Four of these volcanoes are active , two are dormant , and more than 123 are extinct , many having since been ground beneath the waves by erosion as seamounts and atolls . The chain extends from south of the island of Hawai ʻi to the edge of the Aleutian Trench , near the eastern edge of Russia . While most volcanoes are created by geological activity at tectonic plate boundaries , the Hawaii hotspot is located far from plate boundaries . The classic hotspot theory , first proposed in 1963 by John Tuzo Wilson , proposes that a single , fixed mantle plume builds volcanoes that then , cut off from their source by the movement of the Pacific Plate , become increasingly inactive and eventually erode below sea level over millions of years . According to this theory , the nearly 60 ° bend where the Emperor and Hawaiian segments of the chain meet was caused by a sudden shift in the movement of the Pacific Plate . In 2003 , fresh investigations of this irregularity led to the proposal of a mobile hotspot theory , suggesting that hotspots are mobile , not fixed , and that the 47 - million - year - old bend was caused by a shift in the hotspot 's motion rather than the plate 's . </P>
<P> The Hawaii hotspot is a volcanic hotspot located near the namesake Hawaiian Islands , in the northern Pacific Ocean . One of the most well - known and heavily studied hotspots in the world , the Hawaii plume is responsible for the creation of the Hawaiian -- Emperor seamount chain , a chain of volcanoes over 5,800 kilometres ( 3,600 mi ) long . Four of these volcanoes are active , two are dormant , and more than 123 are extinct , many having since been ground beneath the waves by erosion as seamounts and atolls . The chain extends from south of the island of Hawai ʻi to the edge of the Aleutian Trench , near the eastern edge of Russia . While most volcanoes are created by geological activity at tectonic plate boundaries , the Hawaii hotspot is located far from plate boundaries . The classic hotspot theory , first proposed in 1963 by John Tuzo Wilson , proposes that a single , fixed mantle plume builds volcanoes that then , cut off from their source by the movement of the Pacific Plate , become increasingly inactive and eventually erode below sea level over millions of years . According to this theory , the nearly 60 ° bend where the Emperor and Hawaiian segments of the chain meet was caused by a sudden shift in the movement of the Pacific Plate . In 2003 , fresh investigations of this irregularity led to the proposal of a mobile hotspot theory , suggesting that hotspots are mobile , not fixed , and that the 47 - million - year - old bend was caused by a shift in the hotspot 's motion rather than the plate 's . </P>
what is the phenomenon responsible for the island chain of hawaii
what is the phenomenon responsible for the island chain of hawaii
Hawaii hotspot
Hawaii hotspot