Explain why the southeastern islands in the hawaiian island chain contain active volcanoes and are larger while the northeastern islands are older smaller and have extinct volcanoes

Plate tectonics

Explanation:

Pacific plate moves in a few centimes every year in a northwestward direction and thus there is a hot spot under the pacific plate and this creates on an island and feeds more islands in the southeast while that of the old northwest are eroded.

Answer decreased soil salinity;