Islands built by a hotspot in the middle of the Pacific
The Hawaiian Islands lie roughly 3,700 kilometers from the nearest continent. Measured on a coastline map, the closest mainland point is the California coast near Point Arena, and the closest inhabited islands are in Kiribati, about 1,700 kilometers to the south. Many sources call Hawaii the most isolated island chain on Earth, though the answer depends on how you define remote.
The islands were built one by one by a hotspot in the mantle. The Pacific plate moves over it at about 5 centimeters a year, so each volcano is carried northwest and a new one forms behind it. That is why the oldest main islands are in the northwest and only the Big Island is still growing.
The whole chain, the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain, runs about 6,200 kilometers across the Pacific floor and holds more than 80 identified undersea volcanoes. A new submarine volcano, Kamaʻehuakanaloa, is rising southeast of the Big Island, and it is expected to take at least 10,000 years to reach the surface.
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