Hawaii is an excellent example of an archipelago. It is the site of three active volcanos. They pretty much constantly erupt, pushing so much lava up that they form new islands.

This happens because there is a hot spot in the Earth’s mantle, which is the molten rock that the Earth’s crust sits on. This crust is fractured into tectonic plates which cover the whole globe—under continents and oceans—and move around like a constantly evolving jigsaw puzzle.

The scientific theory describing this is called Plate Tectonics (it was first called Continental Drift, which is a way cooler name).

This theory was developed in 1912 by a meteorologist called Alfred Wegener and at first everyone thought he was mad and laughed at him. But he knew he was right because he had observed a lot of facts that could only be explained by the plates moving. So now it is what we call a ‘confirmed’ theory.

We do this because science will never call something a fact, even when it is blindingly obviously true, because science—clever little thing that it is—can only ever disprove alternate theories.

And if you made it this far be prepared to be blown away because if you look at the second picture you’ll see a dribble of submerged islands running up and to the left. These are the bones of Hawaii, scattered on the ocean floor by the movement of the tectonic plate upon which Hawaii sits, which is heading up and to the left.

And that, dear reader, is one of the most elegant proofs of a scientific theory ever.

PS - the other amazing thing about that picture is the top left hand corner where you can actually see a ‘subduction zone’. This is where the Pacific Plate is smooshing under the North American plate, on which Siberia, and Alaska’s tail sit.

Thanks Lord Google