The Explosive Truth:
A Volcano's Lifecycle
Audio Tour
It’s a Hotspot!
Volcanoes like Lōʻihi and the one that stands before you are created from lava. But where does that lava come from? Well, in Hawaiʻi, the life of our volcanoes start in what is known as a hotspot. Now most hotspots are located along tectonic plate boundaries, but Hawaiʻi’s is located in the middle of the Pacific Plate, making it extremely unique and one of the world’s most studied!
Now a hotspot is a spot located in the Earth’s mantle. Scientists estimate that the Hawaiian hotspot is about 200 miles across, allowing its narrow vertical passageways to feed our active volcanoes Mauna Loa, Kīlauea, Lōʻihi and, possibly, dormant volcanoes Hualālai and Haleakalā.
The hotspot is just that, a mostly stationary, really, really, hot spot, measuring about 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit. So hot in fact that it actually melts rock! This molten rock is known as magma, which rises up into a magma chamber that fills until the pressure becomes so great that it cracks and we get volcanic eruptions at the surface, and that is how Hawaiʻi gets its beautiful lava flows. Now that we know where the lava comes from, let’s take a look at what it can form!