Hawaii is the latest in a series of island chains reaching back millions and millions of years.
The chain that is above the water now is like the latest pearl in a string that stretches back to the north-east of Russia near the Baring Straits.
As I understood it, the weak spot in the plates led to an eruption that formed the first set of islands.
Then the plate moved onwards to the south east, cutting off the source that fuelled the formation of the islands.
Over time those islands wore away beneath the sea and another island chain spurted out of the weak spot hundreds of miles further along the path.
And now with sonic testing, we can see the remains of the islands like bumps in the sea bed, stretching like a necklace across the Pacific – recording the passage of events over millions of years.
I was so amazed and happy to learn this. I honestly cannot say why. But it is satisfying somehow.
The chain that is above the water now is like the latest pearl in a string that stretches back to the north-east of Russia near the Baring Straits.
As I understood it, the weak spot in the plates led to an eruption that formed the first set of islands.
Then the plate moved onwards to the south east, cutting off the source that fuelled the formation of the islands.
Over time those islands wore away beneath the sea and another island chain spurted out of the weak spot hundreds of miles further along the path.
And now with sonic testing, we can see the remains of the islands like bumps in the sea bed, stretching like a necklace across the Pacific – recording the passage of events over millions of years.
I was so amazed and happy to learn this. I honestly cannot say why. But it is satisfying somehow.
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