Hawaii is positioned in the pacific 'ring of fire' which refers to the borders of the pacific tectonic plate. The mantle of the earths core is constantly moving and shifting creating outlets for the hot molten rock and gasse's beneath the surface of the earth. The molten rock or lava finds its way to the surface through cracks in these plates especially where they border other plates, creating a buildup of lava that eventually emerged from the ocean floor, creating the Hawaiian islands and other volcanic islands in the Pacific ocean. Some of these volcanoes are among the most active in the world.
