The diagram below gives the information about the Hawaiian island chain in the centre of the Pacific Ocean. Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information shown.

The diagram illustrates the formation of the Hawaiian

islands

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, which are situated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Overall

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, the Hawaiian archipelago consists of eight major

islands

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, with the oldest island being around 80 million years old. The newer

islands

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are currently forming

due to

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frequent volcanic eruptions. These eruptions are caused by the gradual movement of tectonic plates in the Pacific Ocean. The eruption process begins deep beneath the Pacific plate, around 2883 kilometres below the Earth's surface. As magma rises, it leads to an eruption, which gradually builds up a new volcano. Over time,

this

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volcano forms the base of an emerging island. Turning to the remaining data, the tectonic plates, which are placed on a solid dense rock, are slowly shifting, causing a movement of 7 to 9 centimetres yearly. Because of these processes, various

islands

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have been created, including a relatively large one like Hawaii and small ones like Kahoolaw and Niihau.