DEFINITION OF HAWAII

The 50th state to join the United States, in 1959,

Hawaii consists of a group of eight major and about 130

smaller islands in the central Pacific Ocean. The islands are

volcanic in origin, having formed over a magmatically active

hot spot that has melted magmatic channels through the

Pacific plate as it moves over the hot spot, forming a chain of

southeastward younging volcanoes over the hotspot. Kilauea

volcano on the big island of Hawaii is the world’s most active

volcano, and it often has a lava lake with an actively convecting

crust developed in its caldera. The volcanoes are made of

low-viscosity basalt and form broad shield types of cones that

rise from the seafloor. Only the tops are exposed above sea

level, but if the entire height of the volcanoes above the

seafloor is taken into account, the Hawaiian Islands form the

tallest mountain range on Earth.

The Hawaiian Islands are part of the Hawaiian-Emperor

seamount chain that extends all the way to the Aleutian-Kamchatka

trench in the northwest Pacific, showing both the great

distance the Pacific plate has moved, and the longevity of the

hot spot magmatic source. From east to west (and youngest to

oldest) the Hawaiian Islands include Hawaii, Maui and

Kahoolawe, Molokai and Lanai, Oahu, Kauai, and Niihau.

The volcanic islands are fringed by coral reefs and have

beaches with white coral sands, black basaltic sands, and

green olivine sands. The climate on the islands is generally

mild, and numerous species of plants lend a paradise-like

atmosphere to the islands, with tropical fern forests and

many species of birds. The islands have few native mammals

(and no snakes), but many have been introduced. Some of the

islands such as Niihau and Molokai have drier climates, and

Kahoolawe is arid.

See also HOT SPOT.

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