The Pacific Plate is migrating northwestward at a rate similar to that of your fingernails - several millimeters each year. This continuous plate movement over a local volcanic "hot spot," or plume, has resulted in an assembly-line-style chain of volcanic islands. They are known (really) as Hawaii. The Hawaiian Islands (also known as the Hawaiian archipelago) are made up … [Read more...] about The Underwater Geology of the Hawaiian Islands is Simply Incredible