ABSTRACT Alfred Wegener started a scientific revolution, when he put forward his proposal of continental drift. Since the acceptance of the Plate Tectonics Theory, there has been a major transformation in the perceptions of the processes that formed and are still forming the Earth. One of the theories that explain how the Big Island of Hawaii was formed is the hotspot hypothesis. The fiery birth that started millions of years ago on the floor of the Pacific Ocean still continues and manages to keep the world intrigued by its beauty and mystery. INTRODUCTION Since early days Hawaii has mesmerized, with its magnificent scenery, but humans have become complacent and give little thought to the processes that gave birth to such beauty. We need to take time and think about the forces, which built these surface features of the earth. There are great unsolved mysteries which need to be studied. In order to counteract climate change and global warming, it is imperative that we understand the earth and its processes. How was Hawaii formed? That is the answer that this scientific paper aims to answer. The youngest and the largest of the Hawaiian Islands is Hawaii …show more content…
Pillow lava, layers of round interconnected shapes, is formed as a result of this. The oceanic crust consists of basaltic lava which has a mafic composition (high quantity of iron and magnesium), is less viscous and produces wide gentle-sloping volcanoes called shield volcanoes. Basalt is formed when the lava solidifies. As the lava builds up in layers on the ocean floor over hundreds of years, the volcanoes grows and eventually breaks through the ocean surface forming an island. Approximately 10 million years ago the Pacific plate moving in the same direction at the rate of 9 centimeters per year,carried the older volcanic island (Maui) past the hot spot and Hawaii started forming in its