Earth science

Hotspot volcano

A plate drifts over a fixed mantle plume, leaving a chain of islands that grows older with distance.

Press play to start the simulation.

Time 0 My

Plate speed 9 cm/yr

Settings

Playback

Animation speedHow fast simulated time runs

Hotspot strengthNormal

A stronger plume builds taller islands and erupts harder

Lessons

Guided walkthroughA short, narrated tour of how the chain forms

Speed challengeUse two islands to work out how fast the plate moves

Show the bendWatch a kink form when the plate changes direction

Magma supplySwitch the hotspot off to watch the chain cool and sink

View

Side or top-downA slice from the side, or the chain seen from above

What to show

Island agesLabel each island in millions of years

Motion arrowsShow the plate's direction and the fixed hotspot

Label the layersName the ocean, plate, and mantle

More view options

Whole-chain stripA top-down strip of the entire chain

Eruption plumeAsh and steam drifting off the active vent

RulersDepth down the side and distance along the seafloor

Real Hawaiian namesLabel islands as the real Hawaiian-Emperor chain

Data tableAge, height, distance, and state for each island

Realistic heightsFlatten the islands to their true proportions

How it works

A hotspot is a fixed plume of hot rock rising from deep in the mantle. It does not move with the plates. Where it reaches the base of the plate, rock melts into magma that rises and builds a volcano on the surface.

The lithospheric plate slides slowly over the hotspot. Once a volcano is carried off the plume, its magma supply is cut and it goes extinct. A new volcano then grows behind it, directly over the hotspot.

The result is a chain of volcanoes that gets older with distance from the hotspot. The line of the chain points in the direction the plate is moving, and the spacing of the islands records how fast it travels. Hawaii sits over the most famous example.

Tap any island to inspect its age and height. Use the measure tool in the dock to pick two islands and read off the distance, the age gap, and the plate speed that connects them. Switch to the top-down view to look straight down on the chain, and reverse the plate to put a bend in it.

Theme

Light and darkSwitches the sky between day and night

Highlight color

AccentTints the controls and annotations

Hotspot volcano

Islands, youngest first

How a chain of islands forms