Morgan suggested a large amount of excess energy was welling up from deep within the planet. Many scientists questioned Morgan s theory, stating the Hawaiian chain of islands has a bend in it. Morgan claimed the reason for the bend was because the hot spot is stationary, concluding that the Pacific Plate changed direction around the age of the islands at the bend. In simple terms, hot spots appear to be plumes of molten material that well up from a fixed position deep within the earth as the plates move above them. But it s not that simple.
Earthquakes play a major role in the hot spot formation.
The location of earthquakes at depth indicates the process through which molten rocks well upward. The force comes from lighter molten rock surrounded by dense crystalline rocks. This, in return, changes the temperature and pressure, breaking the hard surrounding rock, which causes earthquakes. The magma comes from a layer 30-37 miles below the plate. The magma then rises to the shallow chamber passing through the mantle and the crust and finally reaching the surface.