How the Hawaiian Islands Were Formed The Hawaiian Islands owe their existence to a volcanic hotspot located beneath the Pacific Plate. Unlike most volcanoes that form at tectonic plate boundaries, the Hawaiian hotspot is a fixed plume of molten rock rising from deep within the Earth’s mantle. The Hotspot and Plate Movement The Pacific Plate moves northwest at about 7 to 10 centimeters per year. As it slowly drifts over the stationary hotspot, magma from the mantle rises throu