Channels of the Hawaiian Islands of Niʻihau and Lehua. Kumukahi means "first beginning." The Hoʻomoʻa Channel separates the islands of Lehua and Nihoa. Hoʻomoʻa means "to cook." The Hawaiʻiloa Channel to the northwest of the islands of Nihoa. Named after Hawaiʻiloa, hero of an ancient Hawaiian legend about the settling of the Hawaiian Islands. Channels of the Hawaiian Islands In an archipelago like the Hawaiian Islands the water between islands is typically called a "channel" or "passage". Described here are the channels between the islands of Hawaiʻi, arranged from southeast to northwest. The ʻAlenuihāhā separates the island of Hawaiʻi and the island of Maui. The
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