Hawaiian Islands

The Hawaiian Islands in the North Pacific Ocean are made up of eight major islands, several atolls, islets, and seamounts, all of which extend out 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii to the northernmost Kure Atoll. The islands are exposed peaks from the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain, which is a grand undersea mountain range that was formed from volcanic activity over the Earth’s mantle hotspot. It resides 1,860 miles from the nearest continent. The Big Island is built from five volcanoes--the formal name is Hawai’i Island. It is the largest amongst them but is also the youngest island in the chain. This is where the largest shield volcano on Earth is found (Mauna Loa), occupying over half of the Big Island. The eight major islands that make up this US state include: Hawai’i, Maui, O’ahu, Kaua’i, Moloka’i, Lana’i, Ni’ihau, and Kaho’olawe.