<P> In 1963 , geologist John Tuzo Wilson hypothesized the origins of the Hawaiian -- Emperor seamount chain , explaining that they were created by a hotspot of volcanic activity that was essentially stationary as the Pacific tectonic plate drifted in a northwesterly direction , leaving a trail of increasingly eroded volcanic islands and seamounts in its wake . An otherwise inexplicable kink in the chain marks a shift in the movement of the Pacific plate some 47 million years ago , from a northward to a more northwesterly direction , and the kink has been presented in geology texts as an example of how a tectonic plate can shift direction comparatively suddenly . A look at the USGS map on the origin of the Hawaiian Islands clearly shows this `` spearpoint '' . </P>
in what direction was the pacific plate moving while the emperor seamounts were forming
northwesterly direction