This article discusses the idea of 'hot spot' volcanoes, those not associated with plate tectonic boundaries, but rather with relatively stationary sources of heat energy (thermal plumes) in the mantle. Topics include the development of the theory by Canadian geophysicist J. Tuzo Wilson; the mechanics of volcanism over a hot spot as seen in the Hawaiian Islands; ancient Hawaiian observations of the ages of their islands; and the distribution of other hot spots around the world.
