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In geology, hotspots (or hot spots) are volcanic locales thought to be fed by underlying mantle that is anomalously hot compared with the surrounding mantle. [1] Examples include the Hawaii , Iceland , and Yellowstone hotspots .
It could be another 1–2 million years (as the North American Plate moves across the Yellowstone hotspot) before a new supervolcano is born to the northeast, and the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field joins the ranks of its deceased ancestors in the Snake River Plain. [12] A 2020 study suggests that the hotspot may be waning. [13]
There is an ongoing discussion about whether the hotspot is caused by a deep mantle plume or originates at a much shallower depth. [3] Recently, seismic tomography studies have found seismic wave speed anomalies under Iceland, consistent with a hot conduit 100 km (62 mi) across that extends to the lower mantle.
By assuming that the hotspot is stationary, geologists use what is called the "hotspot frame of reference" to gather plate motion estimates and to create maps of plate movement on the surface of the Earth relative to a stationary hotspot.
The track of this hot spot starts in the west and sweeps up to Yellowstone National Park. The steaming fumaroles and explosive geysers are ample evidence of a concentration of heat beneath the surface. The hot spot is stationary, but the North American plate is moving over it, creating a record of the rate and direction of plate motion. [5]
The HawaiĘ»i hotspot is a volcanic hotspot located near the namesake Hawaiian Islands, in the northern Pacific Ocean.One of the best known and intensively studied hotspots in the world, [1] [2] the Hawaii plume is responsible for the creation of the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain, a 6,200-kilometer (3,900 mi) mostly undersea volcanic mountain range.