Wanderlust World Wanderlust World A line drawn from the Hawaiian Islands northwest along the Emperor Seamounts forms a gentle, convex-northward arc spanning ~6,000 km (3,700 mi).
Why? The Pacific Plate moves over a stationary mantle hotspot. Volcanoes form sequentially: the Hawaiian Islands (SE) are youngest (active); the Emperor Seamounts (NW) are oldest (extinct, submerged).
A sharp 60° bend (~47 Ma) marks a major plate motion change—from northward to northwestward. The chain is a textbook hotspot track.