How many volcanoes are in Hawaii? How many islands are in Hawaii?
The Hawaiian islands are very different land forms from the Mainland USA. Hawaii was formed when a molten ‘hot spot’ weakened the Earth s crust until it broke open and molten lava started pumping out. That one ‘hot spot’ stays in the same place as the Pacific Tectonic Plate moves slowly northeast towards Japan and has created all of the Hawaiian Islands. There are actually 132 islands (8 major islands and 124 smaller islands, reefs, atolls and shoals) in the Hawaiian Island Chain that have been created by that one hot spot over hundreds of millions of years. The chain runs 1,600 miles (2,560 kilometers) from the oldest formation, the Kure Atoll in the northwest, to the Big Island of Hawaii in the southeast. Eight main islands are considered part of the State of Hawaii: Ni’ihau, Kauai, Molokai, Lanai, Maui, Koho’olawe, Oahu, the Big Island of Hawaii. Ni’ihau and Koho’olawe are very tiny islands and are not accessable to the public without permission. Kauai, the oldest of the main access
