With the current new island being created, how long until another island begins to be created?

Eric

Dear Eric,

I am not sure which volcanic island you are referring to. The most studied volcanic islands are Hawaii. Each volcano has a life span of 500,000 to 1 million years. About 17 volcanoes have formed in about 5 million years. That's an average of one volcano per 300,000 years. Kilauea grew above sea level about 175,000 years ago. Loihi, the newest Hawaiian volcano, is about 3,000 feet (900 m) below sea level. It probably won't form an island for many tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of years.

Steve Mattox, University of North Dakota

Source of Information:
Moore, J.G., and Clague, D.A., 1992, Volcano growth and evolution of the island of Hawaii: Geological Society of America, v. 104, p. 1,471-1,484.

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