Hot Spots are areas of crust with unusually high heat flow found away from plate boundries. Eruptions are usually of low-viscosity basaltic magmas.

Hawaii
Hawaii currently sits on top of a hot spot in the Pacific Ocean, which has led to the formation of the Hawaiian Island chain. The hot spot has led to a series of volcanic eruptions which have created the island chain which have slowly risen out of the sea. While the hot spot remains stationary, the Pacific Plate moves in a North-Westerly direction above it. As you move in a North-westerly direction from Hawaii, the age of the islands increase, with Kauai being 5.1million years old compared to Hawaii which is only 400,000 years old.

	Criado por Will Welford quase 11 anos atrás

Slides sobre Plate tectonics and associated hazards, criado por Will Welford em 30-11-2015.