Located along the southern shore of the island, the volcano, at 300,000 to 600,000 years old, is the second youngest product of the Hawaiian hotspot and the current eruptive center of the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain. 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.

As plates move over hotspots, a string of volcanoes often form. Geological origins A hotspot beneath the Pacific Plate created Hawaii's volcanic islands. If the hotspot had been stationary, the minerals would have corresponded, Tarduno writes. Thus far, most geochemical models have been based on rock suites that are not representative of fully developed volcanoes. Courtesy of USGS. Hawaii's volcanic hotspot The Hawaii hotspot is a volcanic hotspot located near the namesake Hawaiian Islands, in the northern Pacific Ocean. As this hotspot has remained stationary over the last 40 million years, the plate above has drifted west-northwest at a rate of three and a half inches per year. Most hotspots, like the Hawaii hotspot, are located far from any plate boundaries, but others are close to or directly on a plate boundary. The origin of the Emperor-Hawaiian volcanic chain is attributed to the northwesterly movement of the Pacific plate over a stationary mantle plume (hotspot)1. The Hawaiian volcanoes are forming because of a hotspot: a plume of hot material rising from the Earth’s mantle. Artist's conception of the movement of the Pacific Plate over the fixed Hawaiian hotspot, illustrating the formation of the Hawaiian Ridge-Emperor Seamount Chain. The Hawaiian archipelago is merely the latest, largely above-water result of volcanism that began some 70 million years ago. Over time, the hotspot resulted in 82 volcanoes emerging to form the Hawaiian Ridge. There has been considerable controversy as to the nature and number of sources of Hawaiian hotspot volcanism. Kīlauea is a shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, the most active of the five volcanoes that together form the big island of Hawaii. It's part of a massive mountain range known as the Hawaiian Ridge-Emperor Seamounts chain, which stretches some 3,700 miles and nearly reaches the coast of Alaska.