Wilson proposed that mantle convection produces small, hot buoyant upwellings under the Earth 's surface; these thermally active mantle plumes supply magma which in turn sustains long - lasting volcanic activity. This "mid-plate '' volcanism builds peaks that rise from relatively featureless sea floor, initially as seamounts and later as fully - fledged volcanic islands. The local tectonic plate (in the case of the Hawaii hotspot, the Pacific Plate) slowly slides over the hotspot, carrying its volcanoes with it without affecting the plume. Over hundreds of thousands of years, the magma supply for the volcano is slowly cut off, eventually going extinct. No longer active enough to overpower erosion, the volcano slowly sinks beneath the waves, becoming a seamount once again. As the cycle continues, a new volcanic center manifests, and a volcanic island arises anew. The process continues until the mantle plume itself collapses.
the state of hawai'i is located on which tectonic plate
the Pacific Plate