EarthRef.org Digital Archive (ERDA) -- Distance from Kilauea and Age of Hawaiian Island Volcanoes

Description
This graph depicts a trend present in the Hawaiian Islands and Emperor Seamounts in which age of the island and seamounts increase as the distance from Kilauea increases. The line of best fit shows that this relationship is nearly linear indicating that the velocity at which the Pacific Plate is moving over the hotspot has been fairly constant (though not completely constant) throughout history. However, note that the trend line tends to lie above the actual data for the younger islands and lies below the data for the older islands; this is likely due to variations in plate velocity.

Instructions
Using the line of best fit and a map of Hawaii try to determine the velocity at which the Pacific Plate is moving. Remember: velocity = distance / time.

Copyright Owner
Enduring Resources for Earth Science Education (ERESE)

Copyright Description
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