It is rare for a person to be able to see snow and sand within a few minutes of each other. It is even rarer for a person to have the opportunity to swim in the ocean and snowboard on the same day. For those potential buyers of houses for sale in Hawaii, the ability to enjoy the diverse geographical landscape of Hawaii is one of the best features of life in the islands. The Big Island’s Mauna Kea is 13,796 feet tall when measured from the surface of the Pacific Ocean. However, the towering mountain is actually taller than Mount Everest when measured from its base on the Pacific Ocean floor – 33,500 feet! As with all other mountains in Hawaii, Mauna Kea was formed as a result of erupting magma from the floor of the ocean.

The theory of the “hotspot” says that as the Pacific tectonic plate moves across the hotspot, the magma bursts through
the water, eventually creating an island. This theory is being validated thanks to the creation of the Loihi Seamount south of the Big Island. Loihi is expected to be the ninth Hawaiian Island several million years from now. Maui’s Haleakala is similar to Mauna Kea.