While the process by which volcanic islands from is similar from chain to chain, the time that any island spends above sea level can very widely, from a few million years in the case of the Galapagos to over 20 million for the Canary Islands. And yet the mechanisms that set an island's lifespan are largely unknown.

Read the article: http://news.mit.edu/2019/how-long-will-volcanic-island-live-0101