How is the ring of fire different from the Hawaiian islands

Hawaii sits smack dab in the middle of the Ring of Fire, a 25,000 mile boundary around the Pacific Ocean where tectonic plates meet to create volcanoes, earthquakes, and deep ocean trenches. Since Hawaii sits in the middle of the Pacific plate, not on a tectonic plate boundary, its volcanoes form in a different way.

While most islands form near tectonic plate boundaries, the Hawaiian Islands are nearly 2000 miles away from the nearest plate margin. Therefore, scientists believe that the islands formed due to the presence of the Hawaiian "hot spot," a region deep in the Earth's mantle from which heat rises.