Other sorts of volcanoes occur where one of the tectonic plates sits above what we call a hot-spot . A hot-spot is a large plume of hot molten magma that rises from the mantle up to the surface. The Hawaiian islands are formed in this way, and as the Pacific plate moves slowly over the hot-spot, new volcanoes are being made. The life of a volcano Volcanoes are generated by the motions of the tectonic plates, and so their life is related to how the plates are moving. Once an area stops being tectonically active, the volcanoes become dormant, or inactive.
Some volcanoes form very quickly indeed.
One such volcano is the island of Surtsey, just off the south coast of Iceland. Surtsey formed in 1963 when lava that was erupting from the sea floor formed such a high pile that it reached above the surface of the water. Scientists monitored the formation of the island, and still monitor it today to see how plants and animals slowly developed on the island. Another volcano that formed very quickly is Paracutin, which started growing in a farmers field in 1943. For two weeks before the volcano formed there were small earthquakes in the area.