[RightWhale]

Well, then, two other things. Is Hawaii due to an asteroid impact way back a long time ago, and is the Yellowstone plume moving relative to the crust like Hawaii?

[Mike Darancette]

Is Hawaii due to an asteroid impact way back a long time ago, and is the Yellowstone plume moving relative to the crust like Hawaii?

The Hawaiian hotspot is 70 million years old (vs 17 million for Yellowstone) with a track running from the Emporer Seamounts to Hawaii Some 6,000 km all of which is in the Pacific Ocean. There is no explanation as to it's cause.

Both hotspots are stationary with the crustal plates moving relative to the hotspots.

The Hawaii hotspot track has a pronounced dogleg left where the motion of the Pacific Plate changed direction some 43mya.

USGS on Hawaiian Hotspot

[willyone]

Asteroid? Hawaii is the most recent of the Hawaiian Islands formed by a hot spot where the earths crust is thin at the bottom of the Pacific. All the other Hawaiian Islands are in decline as there is no longer any volcanic activity renewing them. They have moved with the crust away from the vent. Midway was once a large Island in the Hawaiian chain. Not much left of it now.