Hawaii is not located near a boundary between tectonic plates. Instead, it sits in the middle of the Pacific Plate, a massive tectonic plate.

Hawaii's volcanic activity is caused by a hotspot, a plume of hot mantle material rising from deep within the Earth. This plume melts the overlying Pacific Plate, creating volcanoes. As the Pacific Plate moves over the stationary hotspot, a chain of volcanic islands is formed, with the youngest island (Hawaii) being located directly over the hotspot.