Hawaiian Volcanism

Hawaii is where new earth is born. The islands sit atop a volcanic hotspot — a plume of magma rising from deep within the Earth’s mantle.

The patterns of Hawaiian volcanism are the patterns of creation itself. Pahoehoe lava flows in smooth, ropy sheets. Black sand beaches form when hot lava shatters on contact with cold ocean water. The Na Pali coast reveals millions of years of erosion in its fluted cliffs.