Question

Which of the following scenarios best describes how the Hawaiian Islands formed in the Pacific Ocean? View Available Hint(s) Which of the following scenarios best describes how the Hawaiian Islands formed in the Pacific Ocean? Old crustal material is consumed at a convergent plate boundary, creating stratovolcanoes. Crustal material is colliding and being thrust upward from the seafloor, creating mountains. Magma generated from a hot spot burned through the overlying plate to create volcanoes. New crustal material is being created as two plates comprising the seafloor separate, allowing magma to rise to the surface. Tectonic plates are sliding past each other, generating the friction necessary to melt rock to create magma.

Answer 1

The correct answer is - Magma generated from a hot spot burned through the overlying plate to create volcanoes.

The Hawaiian Islands are all formed as a result of volcanic activity of a hot spot. The hot spot is stationary, but the islands are in the shape of a chain, not all in the same place. Also, the rocks on the islands that do not have active volcanoes are older, than the ones that do have volcanic activity. This suggests that the Pacific plate is moving. According the direction in which the islands are arranged, the Pacific plate seems to move toward northwest. As it moves, it moves over the hot spot. Since the hot spot is stationary, as the Pacific plate moves, eventually the volcanic activity will stop on the island that has moved further away from the hot spot. The magma from the hot spot will penetrate through the crust that came to be over it. That will result in new volcanic island emerging from the sea over the hot spot. The process goes on for millions of years, and it can result in hundreds of islands of volcanic origin.