Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, one of five volcanoes which together form the island of Hawaii. Puu Wekiu, one of numerous cinder cones on the summit plateau, is the highest point in the state of Hawaii at . Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain in the world when measured from base to summit, since its base is located on the seafloor some beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean, bringing its total height to well over . In the Hawaiian language, mauna kea means "white mountain", a reference to its summit being regularly snow-capped during the Northern Hemisphere winter.