EXPLORE: What Happens at Plate Boundaries?

Hot Spots
Another type of plate movement can also create volcanoes. Hot spots are areas where magma pushes up to the surface. As tectonic plates move over the hot spot, volcanic island chains are formed, such as the Hawaiian Islands. Volcanoes form when magma from beneath the Earth's crust breaks through the surface and erupts. As the lava cools, new islands are created. Every several thousand years a new island emerges from the sea.

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