Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain

The **Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain** is the Hawaiian Islands and the Emperor Seamounts: together they form a vast underwater mountain region of islands, seamounts, atolls, shallows, banks and reefs. The line goes southeast to northwest beneath the northern Pacific Ocean; and many of the underwater mountains are guyots.

The seamount chain, with over 80 identified undersea volcanoes, stretches over  from the Aleutian Trench in the far northwest Pacific to the Loʻihi seamount, the youngest volcano in the chain, which lies about  southeast of the Island of Hawaiʻi.

The oldest age for the Emperor Seamounts is 81 million years, and comes from Detroit Seamount. However, Meiji Guyot, located to the north of Detroit Seamount, is likely somewhat older.

In 1963, geologist John Tuzo Wilson explained that the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain was created by a hotspot of volcanic activity that stood as the Pacific tectonic plate moved over it. This left a trail of volcanic islands and seamounts. A "bend" or "V" in the chain marks a shift in the movement of the Pacific plate some 47 million years ago, from a northward to a more northwesterly direction. The bend shows how a tectonic plate can shift direction suddenly. A look at the USGS map on the origin of the Hawaiian Islands clearly shows this "spearpoint".

Recent research shows that the hotspot itself may have moved with time. Some evidence comes from analysis of the orientation of the ancient magnetic field preserved by magnetite in ancient lava flows sampled at four seamounts.

## Hawaiian Islands and Seamounts

|Name|Last Eruption Date|Type|Age|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount (formerly Lōʻihi)|1996|seamount|400000 years|the youngest of the Hawaiian volcanoes. last eruption occurred in 1996 which formed a crater known as "Pele's pit". will eventually breach the surface and become the newest Hawaiian island.|
|Kīlauea|2021-now|shield volcano|300000-600000 years ago|the youngest Hawaiian volcano above sea level. has been in almost continuous eruption from 1983-2018 and since 2021|
|Mauna Loa|2022-Now|Shield volcano|700000-1 million years|currently the largest subaerial volcano on earth|
|Hualālai|1800-1801|shield volcano|> 300000||
|Mauna Kea|4460 Years Ago (YA)|shield volcano|~1 million years|Considered to be the largest mountain in the world from base to summit|
|kohala|120000 YA|shield volcano|120000-1 million years|oldest existing part of the big island|
|mahukona|470000 YA|seamount|273000-341000 years||
|haleakala|between 1480 and 1600|shield volcano|~ 2 million|oldest active volcano in the Hawaiian emperor seamounts|
|west maui|less than 320000 years ago|mountain range|1.32±0.04 million|makes up the entire west quarter of maui|
|Kaho'olawe|1 MYA|volcanic island|> 1.03±0.18 million|smallest of the 8 main Hawaiian Islands. most of the volcano has long disappeared beneath the waves|
|Lānaʻi|1.2 MYA|volcanic island|1.28±0.04 million years|smallest currently accessible inhabited island|
|east molokai|1.3 MYA|mountain range|1.76±0.04 million|about 1.5 million years ago, the northern face of the volcano suffered a huge collapse, causing a large tsunami. only the southern half remains above the sea today|
|penguin bank|1.76 MYA|seamount|2.2 million years|was once a large part of the prehistoric island of Maui Nui. Now lies in relatively shallow waters capped with coral|
|Ko'olau range|32000 YA|possibly dormant mountain range|2.7 million years|partially destroyed remains of a shield volcano which suffered a large collapse before the Molokai event|
|Wai'anae range|2.5 MYA|mountain range|2.5-3.9 million years|remains of an eroded shield volcano. last erupted around 2.5 million years ago|
|Ka'ena ridge|3 mya|seamount/ mountain range|3.5-4.9 million years|submerged remnants of a shield volcano that has long since disappeared beneath the waves|
|Ka'ula|over 2 MYA|volcanic island|3.8-4.2 million years|tiny, crescent shaped island. uninhabited|
|Ni'ihau|2 MYA|volcanic island|4.89±0.11|smallest inhabited island in the Hawaiian archipelago.|
|Kaua'i|1.41 MYA|volcanic island|4.9-5.3 million years|the oldest of the main Hawaiian islands|

## North-western Hawaiian  islands

|Name|Type|Age|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Nihoa|volcanic island|6.9-7.5 million years|small rocky island which once held a small population of inhabitants about 1000 years ago. youngest North-Western Hawaiian island above sea level|
|Necker island|volcanic island|9.9-10.7 million years|small island with traces of civilisation|
|French Frigate shoals|Atoll|12 million years|largest and youngest atoll in the Hawaiian emperor seamount chain|
|gardner pinnacles|Rock Formations|12.3±1.0 million|2 small rock formations surrounded by a large reef|
|Raita Bank|guyot|12.3 to 19.9 million years|youngest named guyot in the chain|
|Maro reef|Atoll|12.3 to 19.9 million|largest coral reef in the chain|
|Laysan|Atoll and island|12.3 to 19.9 million||
|Lisianski Island|atoll|19.9 to 20.6 million|A small island surrounded by a huge coral reef nearly the size of Oahu. named after a Russian navy captain who ran aground on this island|
|Pearl and Hermes Atoll|atoll and islands|20.6±2.7 million|a bunch of small sandy islands with a lagoon and coral reef|
|ladd seamount|Guyot|20.6 to 27.7 million||
|Midway Atoll|Atoll|27.7±0.6 million|the site of a key battle in the 2nd world war|
|Nero seamount|Guyot|27.7 to 38.7 million||
|Kure atoll|atoll|27.7 to 38.7 million|oldest surviving Atoll in the chain|

## Emperor seamounts table

|width="18%"|Name|Type|Coordinates|width="13%"|Age|class="unsortable"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Hancock|Seamount|||||||
|Colahan|Seamount|||||||
|Abbott|Seamount|||||||
|Daikakuji|Seamount|||Also the name of a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Daikaku-ji||||
|Kammu|Guyot|||Named after Emperor Kammu, former ruler of Japan||||
|Yūryaku|Guyot|||Named after Emperor Yūryaku, former ruler of Japan||||
|Kimmei|Seamount|||Named after Emperor Kimmei, former ruler of Japan||||
|Kōkō|Guyot|||Named after Emperor Kōkō, former ruler of Japan||||
|Ōjin|Guyot|||Named after Emperor Ōjin, former ruler of Japan||||
|Jingū|Guyot|||Named after Empress Jingū, former ruler of Japan||||
|Nintoku|Guyot|||Named after Emperor Nintoku, former ruler of Japan||||
|Yōmei|Seamount|||Named after Emperor Yōmei, former ruler of Japan||||
|Suiko|Guyot|||Named after Empress Suiko, former ruler of Japan||||
|Detroit|Guyot|||Well-documented seamount, second-oldest||||
|Meiji|Guyot|||Named after Emperor Meiji, former ruler of Japan; oldest known seamount in the chain||||

## Related pages

- List of volcanos
- Active volcano
- Dormant volcano