Near which island is the Pūhāhonu volcano located?

Puhahonu is the world's largest volcano, although it may not seem so at first glance. Located about 1,100 kilometers northwest of Honolulu, the southernmost of the major U.S. cities, its Hawaiian name means "turtle surfacing to breathe." This comparison is due to the volcano's resemblance to two small islands in the Pacific Ocean.

Researchers from the University of Hawaii's School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) determined that this volcano, situated within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, is the largest and hottest on Earth, after analyzing several lines of evidence.

To do this, they carefully analyzed the seabed of the underwater mountain range formed by the Hawaiian volcanoes, chemically analyzed the rocks that compose them, and concluded that Pūhāhonu, a Hawaiian term for "turtle that rises to breathe," is almost twice the size of Mauna Loa.

The geological study not only revealed the magnitude of these volcanoes, but also shed new light on the evolution of these pulses of molten material throughout geological history. Among other conclusions, the study concludes that these colossal volcanoes have been expelling some of the hottest magma on Earth for millions of years.