Treasures of Hawai‘i
Bishop Museum
The State Museum of Natural and Cultural History
Honolulu, Hawai‘i

Volcanic rock from Lo`ihi

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Volcanic rock from Lo`ihi, Hawai‘i 's newest island

Lo`ihi is only 20 miles (30km) from the Big Island and about a half-mile below sea level. The rock you see is a basalt rock from one of Lo`ihi's recent eruptions. The black volcanic glass shows that this rock is very young.

An Island Is Born

Where do islands come from? Lo`ihi, a new volcanic island 20 miles southeast of Hawai‘i Island, is being created. Look at Lo`ihi and you'll understand how Hawai‘i itself was born.

First, imagine a section of the Earth's crust floating on top of the Earth's hot mantle. That's called a "tectonic plate."

As the Pacific tectonic plate moves over a mantle hot spot, magma can break through the plate. At one break, Lo`ihi began as escaping magma ... exactly as the other Hawaiian islands originated.

Like a string of pearls, the Hawaiian chain of islands is drifting southeast over this hot spot, at the rate of a few inches a year.

Over millions of years, the escaping magma has left a trail of islands from Wake Island to Hawai‘i . In the State of Hawai‘i : the oldest is Kaua`i ... the youngest, the Big Island ... and now, the newest, Lo`ihi. Who knows what will come next!

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The State Museum of Natural and Cultural History
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Revised March 16, 1997 by jys