Samoan Islands with black sand beaches. The highest peak is Mt. Silisili, on the island of Savai'i, one of the highest peaks in Polynesia at . The highest point in American Samoa is on Ta’u, Lata Mountain, at . The two large islands of Upolu and Savai'i in Samoa, are among the largest of Polynesian islands, at and , respectively, exceeded in size only by the two main islands of Fiji and the Hawaiian islands of Hawaiʻi and Maui. The island of Upolu is more populated than Savai'i. The next largest island is Tutuila, where the city and harbor Pago Pago (population
Evolution of Hawaiian volcanoes Evolution of Hawaiian volcanoes The fifteen volcanoes that make up the eight principal islands of Hawaii are the youngest in a chain of more than 129 volcanoes that stretch across the North Pacific Ocean, called the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain. Hawaii's volcanoes rise an average of to reach sea level from their base. The largest, Mauna Loa, is high. As shield volcanoes, they are built by accumulated lava flows, growing a few meters/feet at a time to form a broad and gently sloping shape. Hawaiian islands undergo a systematic pattern of submarine and subaerial growth that is followed by erosion. An