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Questions for Discussion: Plate Tectonics: The Hawaiian Archipelago
- Do all islands form in this way? How are the volcanoes on the Hawaiian Islands
different from other volcanoes?
- What is magma called when it erupts on to the Earth's surface?
- What is considered the best explanation for the origin of the magma that forms the
Hawaiian Islands, and explains why all other volcanoes in the Hawaiian Island chain (to the
northwest) are now extinct or dormant?
- Mauna Loa and Kilauea are the main volcanoes on the big island of Hawai'i. Which is
the largest? Which is the oldest? Where is most of the active extrusion of lava occurring now
on the island of Hawaiʻi?
- Loihi is the youngest of the Hawaiian volcanoes, although it is not yet an island.
Where is it located?
