What fault runs along the Hawaiian Islands that causes earthquakes?

Answer 1

There is no fault along the Hawaiian Islands. The earthquakes are caused by magma rising from a hot spot beneath the Pacific Plate. As magma rises it displaces a portion of the plate and that is felt as an earthquake. Of course, there is the belief (by some in Geology) that there is no such thing as hot spots (or Plate Tectonics for that matter), but that is the most commonly accepted theory.

Answer 2

Unlike many volcanoes found around the pacific margin the Hawaiian volcanoes are not associated with plate margins and subduction. Rather they have formed intraplate as a result of an upwelling of magma termed a 'hot-spot' or 'mantle plume'. Therefore there is no major fault that causes the earthquakes. They are triggered by movements of magma under the earth's surface.

Answer 3

There is no large scale fault that runs along the Hawaiian islands. The earthquakes that are felt there are caused by volcanic activity or underwater landslides.

Answer 4

Plate tectonics. The San Andreas fault is where two plates of the Earth's lithosphere meet. The shifting/moving of the two plates along each other results in an Earthquake. Another example is the ring of fire.