Where do volcanoes occur?
of the plate (i.e., the Pacific Plate for the Hawaiian Islands). This hot spot is situated beneath the center of the plate, and the volcano above moves with the plate as it moves, but the hot spot stays in place. This causes the original volcano to become extinct as its move cuts it off from its magma source. A new volcano will then form above the hot spot again. This process repeats as the plate moves and a string of volcanoes will dot the surface of the plate as the movement continues away from the hot spot.
