What causes the volcanic islands to form in the middle of a tectonic plate?

Volcanic islands can form in the middle of a tectonic plate when a hot mantle plume rises from deep inside Earth and melts through the crust. As the plate moves over this relatively stationary plume, repeated eruptions can build a chain of volcanic islands. This process is different from volcanism at plate boundaries, where plates move apart or one plate sinks beneath another.

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.