Hawaiian Islands

The Hawaiian Islands are a chain of volcanic islands and atolls in the central Pacific, extending northwest from the inhabited islands of the U.S. state of Hawaii.

Hawaiian hotspot: A persistent mantle source of magma beneath the Pacific Plate that formed the Hawaiian volcanic chain. Its volcanism built the islands as the Pacific Plate moved northwest.
Central Pacific: The broad central region of the Pacific Ocean, spanning the equatorial and subtropical ocean basin. The Hawaiian chain lies within this remote ocean region.
Loihi Seamount: An active submarine volcano southeast of Hawaiʻi Island, now also known as Kamaʻehuakanaloa. It is a developing volcano at the southeastern end of the Hawaiian volcanic system.
Hawaiian biodiversity: The unusually diverse and highly endemic assemblage of species found across the Hawaiian Islands and surrounding waters. Geographic isolation and varied island habitats fostered exceptional endemism.
Pacific Plate: The largest tectonic plate, consisting mostly of oceanic lithosphere in the Pacific Basin. Its northwestward motion carries islands away from the hotspot that formed them.
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands: A mostly uninhabited string of islands, reefs, and atolls northwest of the main Hawaiian Islands. They continue the archipelago beyond the state’s main inhabited islands.
Hawaiian volcanism: Volcanic activity associated with the Hawaiian hotspot, including submarine and subaerial eruptions. Repeated eruptions produced the islands and continue to shape the youngest volcanic areas.
Hawaiian language: A Polynesian language indigenous to Hawaii, with a modern revival movement after a period of decline. Its place names and continued use express cultural ties to the islands.
Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain: A submarine volcanic chain extending from the Hawaiian Islands to the Aleutian Trench. The islands are the young, emergent southeastern part of this much longer chain.
Main Hawaiian Islands: The southeastern, inhabited group of eight major islands in the Hawaiian archipelago. They form the populated core of the chain and the U.S. state of Hawaii.

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